Track 01 - BathRoom

WARNINGS: Minor sappiness

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Just like the guys were thinking at the same time, the girls also thought the radio interview was going great. The presenter seemed nice enough and actually sounded genuinely interested in the new found relationships. So because of the relaxed atmosphere it made the girls feel more at ease - they were worried there would be more conflict about the newspapers again. While Megumi, Kira and Kikyo relaxed their backs against the edge of the sofa, Ai and Mika crawled around the edge of the coffee table to sit on the other side. They sat with their legs to the side and arms crossed on the table in front of them. Then they heard Kohta draw his attention on Aoi suddenly and Ai grinned as she rested her chin on her arms. Mika, Megumi, Kira and Kikyo smiled at her as well as they listened. But when the subject of settling down and leaving the band came up, the smile quickly left Ai's face - it wasn't the surprise of settling down that worried her ... it was the thought of him leaving the band. Surely he wouldn't; after all there would be no Gazette without him ... without any of the guys.

"Oh no, don't tell me he's really thinking about doing that! It's kind of a rare thing for great bands to stick together for as long as Gazette have!" Mika whined as she slouched and grimaced, seeing her friends nod sadly in agreement and Mika hugged herself tightly, "I mean okay maybe Kai-san isn't the original drummer but he certainly deserves the title. No one else could replace these guys if one of them left".

What Mika was trying to say was even though Kai came in after the band started, he's been around ever since then. Now if any one of the guys left, they could never be replaced - the Gazette were made from the five of them alone and nothing was going to change that. Anyway, the girls were worried about what Ai was thinking now - was she more put-out at the thought of Aoi marrying or him leaving the band?

"Leave the band? What does Kohta mean by that? I mean we all know Aoi-san is the oldest and most likely thinking about family and stuff", Ai started as she stared blankly at the daisy shaped radio, before glancing up around to her friends and stopping to look at Mika, "But you don't think he'd really leave the band yet, would he? Hate to say it but if he does I'm going to stop being a Gazette Fan".

Ai's friends laughed at how straight forward she was about her dislike of Aoi leaving but Mika patted her back softly in reassurance. But when Aoi cleared his throat and explained that he never would unless it was mutual, Mika raised both eyebrows at Ai and smiled, much as to say 'See, no worries'. Ai sighed with relief and dropped her head to rest on her arms. Suddenly Kira giggled at Kohta asking Reita about his 'comments on Love' and where his noseband was. Kohta had a point - he did look funny without it.

"Ah why did I have that feeling he would be asked about his noseband? Not only did he have to endure the conference without it, but also now he's being teased ..." Kira giggled again and she slouched against the edge of the sofa, wrapping her arms tightly around her knees as she looked thoughtful, "Though yeah he does look cool when wearing it, I have to say he looks cuter without it too".

Megumi and Kikyo both poked Kira her sides seeing they were either side of her, and Kira jumped with a little giggle. Well, it was true, but she'd actually dulled it down a little - she didn't think he was cute without it, she thought he was Hot. Finally after the guys had had a good laugh about Reita's noseband, he went on to discretely talk about meeting Kira which made her blush.

"Well there you go Kira, your 'one of the guys' now. I can just imagine it, next time you see him, instead of a friendly hug you'll get a hard slap on the back", Megumi laughed, covering her mouth with both hands and toppling side-ways onto the floor because Kira pushed her, Megumi sat up again, "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. But it really does sound like he likes you otherwise he wouldn't have said anything".

Kira blushed furiously at what Megumi said and covered her face with both hands - of course she really liked Reita as well but she wasn't sure if it meant as a relationship. However the thought didn't seem entirely hopeless. The more each of the girls thought about their favourite guy, the more it gave them butterflies to think it could be something more than friends ... well, maybe except Mika, who was already evidence of that. Just then Kikyo perked up and realised Uruha hadn't actually spoken yet.

"Hey wait a second, Uruha-san hasn't said anything yet, has he? I hope he's going to say more than just what was at the beginning of the interview ..." Kikyo said quietly, now feeling a little upset that each of the guys had spoken yet her Uruha had hardly said a word; Kikyo slouched a little, "They can't be finished already, can they? It's not even four-thirty yet ... and I don't mean to sound jealous but each of you have been talked about except me".

The girls all looked sadly at each other as Kikyo lowered her head and stared at the floor. Kikyo certainly had a right to angst about it because her friends had been mentioned during the interview but Uruha hadn't said a word about her yet. Maybe he didn't think much of her yet? Or as Kikyo's friend believed, he was probably just the last to speak. After all someone had to go last right? Kira softly nudged Kikyo with her shoulder and Kikyo looked up with a little smile. Mika reached across the coffee table and softly shoved Kikyo's other shoulder to reassure her that Uruha would talk about her. As she'd just said, Uruha had invited her to go out with him sometime so he didn't dislike her. So Kikyo breathed in and then breathed out with a big smile - she wasn't going to angst about it anymore because she believed he would mention her.

* * *
Kohta was still laughing at Reita's response - he noticed that Reita was trying really hard not to sound like a softy. But in truth Reita was just as much of a sentimental person as the others, he just didn't like to show it off very often ... it sometimes always came out not the way he wanted anyway. Reita slouched a little in his chair and slapped a hand over his face - now what was Kira going to think of him? Treating a girl as 'one of the guy'? What a stupid thing to say on the radio, and now the fans would mostly likely tease him about it too. The other guys teased and poked Reita's arms just because he deserved it, which the bassist didn't seem to like because he grunted and flinched. That was his official signal to cut it out before he got cranky, so they stopped. Kohta was amused by it because he'd never seen a band act so natural as what they were ... maybe because a lot of bands had their stage personalities on everywhere except when they were at home.

"Well thanks for that statement Reita, much appreciated. You tried so hard just then to tell this girl you like her ... but you gotta work on your wording there fella" Kohta said with a fake serious tone as he fanned a hand in Reita's direction before pushing his glasses up his nose again, "A simple 'I think your cute and I want to see you again' would have been sufficient. But you've got plenty of time to work on that ..."

"Hai hai, I know I'm not really good at it, but I'm working on it", Reita said quietly, slouching even more.

The guys laughed at Reita again but then quietly down when he glared at them. Kohta finally turned to Uruha who was sitting quietly at the end of the desk, waiting for his turn. Uruha hoped Kikyo hadn't given up on him talking yet - he was hoping she would be listening in for him. Uruha jumped out of his train of thought when he heard Kohta calling his name a few times.

"Hey welcome back to Planet Earth, we lost you for a minute there, Uru-chan~! You don't mind me calling you that do you? Of course you don't", Kohta said too quickly before Uruha could even answer, "Okay big boy, it seems that all of your band mates have a lady to speak of - what about you? And be honest now, you're on live radio".

Uruha gave a little laugh and leaned forward, jerking his head to the side a bit to flick a strand of hair out of his eyes. He knew he would still have a chance to talk and the first thing that came to his mind was Kikyo. Funny to think about seeing he'd been anxious about Ruki inviting the girls backstage last week, yet here he was now thinking fondly about Kikyo.

"We seem to have a pattern going here, yes. What can I say, we met five amazing and fun girls not long ago, and we all seemed to just get along straight away. It's what you call fate, I guess. We all seemed to find someone in common with meeting these girls ..." Uruha spoke, leaning his elbow on the table and bending his arm up to rest his chin in that hand, "Especially me. This lovely girl I seem to have a lot in common with. I've even asked her to join me on a date one night; take some time to talk with her more ... because I really think she's a lovely person".

"Aww that's the sweetest thing I've ever heard~! I think I feel tears coming on. Well I think it's great that you've all seemed to connect with these girls. Lets just hope that your fans understand and realise that you will still make great music", Kohta said as a final word, "Speaking of great music, why don't you do all your fans a favour; make it up to them and play us a song. And you can't get out of it because I've just announced it. Why don't you do an acoustic song, for something a little different".

Kohta made a pretend evil laugh. The guys laughed as well but he was right, the fans deserved this much. Handy enough, behind Aoi and Uruha's seats a pair of acoustic guitars was propped against the wall. They both picked up the guitars and set them comfortably across their laps. Reita and Kai would have to sit this one out but they were present of the song so they didn't care. Aoi was to play his usual acoustics while Uruha would handle the back-up rhythm. When they were ready Ruki leaned forward to his mic.

"All right, seeing you asked for it. All of you should know this one even if it is only acoustic. And it's also something a little romantic for the occasion", Ruki said softly as he pulled the mic out from it's little table stand so he could hold it more comfortably, "This will be dedicated to our special girls ... you know who you are, and of course our dearly loved fans. This is 'Cassis'."

As soon as Ruki finished, Aoi started straight away on the acoustic guitar for the opening of 'Cassis'. Kohta smiled to himself as he crossed his arms and leaned on the table in front of him. He'd always liked the song and it was nice that they were dedicating it to not only their girlfriends but the fans as well. And it would also be a treat to the fans to hear a song 'remixed' into only acoustic guitars. Of course the bass and drums would be missed but sadly Kohta's broadcast building wasn't properly equipped for bands to play with full instrumental back up. However Aoi and Uruha didn't seemed fazed at only playing acoustic as they were now both playing with just as much enthusiasm as if they were playing the song normally. Ruki then began to sing which now made Reita and Kai smile - Ruki, Aoi and Uruha were doing a very good job of turning Cassis into an acoustic song when they'd never done it before. The guys hoped the girls were listening.

* * *
Some of the girls were still smiling at how cute Reita sounded on the radio ... of course they weren't going to tell him that. But they could really tell he was warming up to Kira; the poor guy just couldn't say it directly. Megumi was now cooing and poking at Kira to try and make her blush. Of course it was working because Kira wasn't really the type to go after boys, so Reita was certainly a reason for her friends to be excited. Mika on the other hand was looking at Ai as she let out a small sigh and stared lazily at the radio. If you hadn't guessed she was still feeling the relief that Aoi wasn't leaving the band. But when she suddenly noticed Mika was staring at her, Ai laughed and playfully shoved Mika to say she was fine. Elsewhere in 'Kikyo-land', she was sitting quietly and anxiously waiting for Uruha to speak. Kikyo couldn't explain it herself but for the first time in her life she actually felt close to Uruha, and not because he was famous. It was kind of like how Ruki felt for Mika - he couldn't explain it either.

"Oh-my-gosh, Kikyo listen! Kohta is talking to Uruha now! See we told you he wouldn't be left out; someone just had to go last, no offence of course!" Kira blurted out which caused Kikyo to jump and then slap her shoulder when she said 'no offence'; Kira went on, "Wah how cool, they think we're amazing and fun! Ah I'm so giving him a big hug next time I see him! You don't mind do you, Kikyo?"

And with that Kikyo gave a little fake squeal and tackled Kira right into Megumi so all three of them fell to the floor. Ai and Mika just blinked as their friends disappeared under the coffee table. Megumi managed to prop herself up and push Kira and Kikyo up as well. Kikyo now had Kira in a headlock and warning Kira not to touch her 'Uru-chan' as Kohta had put it. Just then Kikyo blushed when she heard Uruha talk about her.

"Um ... Kikyo I hate to get your hopes up too early on anything but ... I really do think Uruha-san has got the hots for you. And I'm not saying it as a joke!" Mika said the last part loudly when Kikyo tried to reach across the table and swap her from being embarrassed, "No I really mean it. Didn't you hear the tone in his voice? No guy says something like that in a genuinely loving tone and then not mean it. He even asked you out, as we've said for the hundredth time!"

As Mika said, Kikyo didn't want to get her hopes up to early but she couldn't help it - she managed a little smile which just burst into a big smile as she giggled and cuddled her knees. No other guy she'd dated before made her giggle like that, and her friends knew it - she was happy ... very, very happy. Ai couldn't help but shake her head at Kikyo's girly behaviour, and then looked back at the radio.

"Oh did you guys hear that, they're gonna play a song. But I thought Kohta's studio wasn't big enough for bands to properly perform ... how would they play?" Ai said as she frowned at the thought of all the guys crammed in Kohta's little studio, until Kohta said something acoustic, "Huh? Does that mean they will perform one of their songs as only acoustic guitar? Hey that sounds interesting ..."

Ai was suddenly cut off when she heard Ruki say it was dedicated to them and the fans. And when the girls heard the normal beginning to 'Cassis' they all felt butterflies in their stomachs. Now it couldn't get more romantic than that. And just hearing Aoi and Uruha playing the music as Ruki sang would make any girl swoon. Megumi and Kikyo were now leaning their heads on Kira's shoulders as they smiled and listened.

"How about that ... they're dedicating this song to us. Well, for the fans too but we've never had song dedications before. And certainly not for all five of us", Kikyo said as she closed her eyes and focused on the guitar-playing, especially trying to follow Uruha's playing with a little smile, "Your really lucky Mika, your now dating a singer so you can have Ruki-san sing to you. Now that's romantic~!"

Mika covered her face with both hands to hide the blushing - something like that sounded too much like a scene from 'Romeo & Juliet'. And she could not imagine Ruki in tights and serenading her from a balcony. In fact the thought made her giggle even more which resulted in her friends stare at her oddly. Kira and Megumi were missing the bass and drums but they still loved hearing 'Cassis' in acoustic re-mix.

"We'll really have to tell them we heard the song and say that it was great. Also I'm sure a lot of fans would have been happy to hear it too", Megumi said nicely, not focusing on the song being dedicated to just them simply because they knew the band personally now, "Now because we know all of them, we have to be more considerate of the fans. So they don't think we're a high priority to them now, you know ..."

Megumi was right though the other girls didn't need her to say it twice - they were all perfectly aware of that problem. Just for a while things might be a little rocky because of the shock in the paper but soon the fans may just let it go and go back to adoring their music like they always have been. The girls would do the same; just because they'd made friends of the guys didn't mean they'd be any different than other fans. They'd do what they normally do - wait in line for concerts, pre-order CD's and DVD's, by magazines with interviews. The one thing they were most scared of was encountering the jealous fans and either not knowing what to say or do, or try to explain things but it backfires. Well in the meantime they were just to engulfed in listening to 'Cassis' to worry about things like that at the moment. Mika especially had stopped imagining Ruki in tights and was now focused on his voice which made her smile ... she could listen to his voice whenever she wanted now.

* * *
The guys always thought of the song 'Cassis' as their greatest love song yet - and the fact that each of them were now playing for someone special meant they played it even better than before. And the fact that it was only Aoi and Uruha on their guitars, it was just that little bit more personal ... even if Reita and Kai had to sit it out. But both Reita and Kai were comfortably lounging back in their chairs, listening to the song with their eyes closed. Kohta now had one arm bent up to rest his chin in that hand while the other arm was still laying on his desk. He was also moved by the 'Live' performance and could imagine every Gazette fan would now have little love-hearts popping above their heads. As the song was coming to a close, Kohta leaned over and pressed his 'cheering' button. He felt it deserved a good thirty seconds again, while Aoi and Uruha replaced their guitars behind them. Reita and Kai sat up straight while Ruki sat forward to put his microphone back into its stand.

"Fans, that was your one and only The Gazette with an acoustic version of 'Cassis'~! Would have gotten all of you into a sentimental mood I hope~!" Kohta said, clapping his hands as his own applause before putting on a sad tone to his voice, "Unfortunately these gorgeous guys have to leave us now because I can't afford to keep them any longer than half a hour ... but it was great having you here, fellas!"

The guys laughed at Kohta's fake sad moment about not affording the band - it was a little joke because he was new on the radio so he was still struggling with a bit of money. But in truth Gazette had volunteered to appear on his radio show to get more fans to listen in; Kohta is in fact an old friend to Aoi so Gazette's manager had given them the 'all clear' to goof off for the night. Ruki spoke up first.

"Thanks for having is Kohta, we were glad to be here. Now I hope next time you invite us to appear on your show that your better equipped for small performances", Ruki said in a fake serious tone, then gestured around the small studio they were in; not that the fans could see while Kohta waved a hand at Ruki as he continued, "And thanks to the fans for listening to us, and we look forward to seeing you all during our 'Decomposition Tour' in a few of weeks. Check out our website for details".

As the guys were leaving, they all shook Kohta's hand one by one and then waved to him as they all filed out of the studio. Kohta waved and gave a thumbs up to his mate Aoi before turning his attention back to his job.

"So please give a hearty goodbye to The Gazette, fans~!" Kohta said, turning back to his mic and getting ready to play the next song, "And now lets get back into our regular countdown with Alice Nine at number Ten with 'Fantasy'~!"

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Upon leaving the actual radio building through the back door to where Ruki had parked his car, the guys all gathered around Ruki's car to take a break - or rather a smoke-break at Aoi and Uruha's insistence. Kai just rolled his eyes and stepped back a few paces so plumbs of smoke didn't surround him. Ruki and Reita of course joined them and they teased Kai about quitting some years ago. Kai always defended himself by saying he was looking after himself and that they should do the same. Which he always gave Ruki a hard time because he was the vocalist - to which Ruki would try and avoid the subject.

"What can you say, it calms Ruki's nerves. Like we've been telling you Kai, you need to start smoking again so you'll stop being so jumpy when things go wrong", Aoi teasing the poor drummer which made Kai give him the death-glare and Aoi decided to shut up about it and change the subject, "Well anyway, we've done a good deed for the day and helped Kohta out a little. Maybe if the fans hear his station more often he'll start getting some funds rolling in faster".

The other guys nodded and agreed - Kohta's fashion style makes him look a bit like a rough nut but he was just doing want he loved. Aoi made a mental note to thank Kohta later on. He'd been nervous to ask if they could appear on his show without being paid for it but their manager was lenient enough to let them turn up. Uruha sighed and slumped down to sit on the edge of the hood of Ruki's car.

"Damn I feel like I haven't had a cigarette for days", Uruha said with another small sigh and he tilted his head back to blow smoke from his mouth before glancing at Ruki, "Hey you should give Mika-chan a call and see if they all listened to the radio. Plus you did promise to call after the spot".

Ruki made an 'hmm' sound and pressed his cigarette to his lips as he dug in his back pocket for his cell-phone. He hadn't forgotten to call her as Uruha's was implying ... more like he wanted to give Mika a break in between hearing him on the radio and then on the phone. On the contrary he'd been itching to call her ever since they left the Dome, but now he had a chance to speak to her without having to worry about any other plans that evening.

"Yes I know I promised, thank you for reminding me, but you don't need too. Now if you'll excuse me I have to take a very important phone call ..." Ruki said seriously though his band mates knew he meant it as a little joke; Ruki turned away as he speed-dialled Mika's number, "So I trust none of you dorks will interrupt me while I'm talking to her?"

Reita made a long 'hmmmm' sound, like he was thinking, but he flinched when Aoi kicking him in the shins. Uruha and Kai laughed quietly as Reita puffed his cheeks in disgust at Aoi's kick. So as payback, seeing as Reita had finished his own cigarette, he snatched Aoi's cigarette and proceeded to run away with it. Uruha and Kai just looked on with amusement as Aoi chased Reita in circles around Ruki's car.

"I just know this is going to end badly in one of several things ... Reita will either fall and burn himself, or they'll scratch Ruki's car somehow", Kai said as he placed a hand over his eyes and shook his head sadly, making Uruha laugh again; Kai glanced at Ruki who had his back turned, "Though for their sake I hope it's the former ... last thing we need is for him to blow up at them right before the Tour ..."

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NOTES:
1) Kohta: It's unlikely Aoi actually knows anyone named 'Kohta' who works on a radio station but as mentioned in last chapters notes, the MediaLust radio station will make a future come-back
2) Kai smoking: For those who don't know, Kai aparently did smoke in Gazette's early days, but then he quit

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