*******
The
Bishounen Boys
Part
7: "Santa Monica"
By
Splash
*******
Ouch,
long wait for this chapter. I've had so
much crap to do, but I really wanted to get some of this out... we all need a
little Taito to our daily
lives...
This
chapter is dedicated to Katie, Paul, Leanne and Chris who amazingly all read
this fic... O_O; Although, one would
have to know them (or read my
Livejournal
:P) in order to understand why that surprises me...
"Santa
Monica" is by Savage Garden, and the lyrics have nothing to do with this
chapter. Santa Monica just happens to
be my recent American song
addiction
along with Drops of Jupiter. But absolutely NOTHING --let alone a song, that
could explain the randomness in this chapter... :P Maybe I'll get
songs that are actually relevent sometime...
Lots
of Japanese this time, sorry if it's too much ^^;
Ja
ne-"See you later" sometimes shortened to "Ja"
Hen
desu ne- That's weird
Yoroshiku-
"Nice to meet you" kind of thing.
Yoroshiku
onegaishimasu- A more formal form of "Yoroshiku" used when greeting
someone in a higher rank than yourself.
Sa-
Come on (in this context)
Itai-
That hurts
Hanase
yo- Let go ("yo" is added to assume a command form)
Doushita?-
What's wrong?
Dosukoi-
Sumo wrestler exclamation
Urusei-Be
quiet
There's
one sentence I left unattended which will be explained at the end notes. ~_^
One
more thing. Yes, I do know what
Newton's actual laws of gravity are.
****
~September
14, 2002~
It
was a vivid view, that fall day. The
migrating Canadian geese wailed as they flew by, warning the foreign boy below
as he wandered through the aging
grass. He didn't bother to look up, but as their
blaring faded away into the distance he was somehow reminded of the doppler
effect he learned about in
science
earlier that day.
"
Hmph, how pointless."
Re-adjusting
his hat, he took in the sight before him, a large patch of decaying trees
fraying their feeders onto Yamato's vacant lawn. His long time
friend
stood in front of the unknown face, who was clad with layers. His long sleeve with a deep hue of blue was
partially covered with a short sleeve
tee.
A
rusted leaf lost its grip on its home and slowly fluttered down. It hovered and landed point up on Yamato's
head, but stammered in the defying wind.
After
some struggle, it tripped and came into contact with Yamato's vision. Without moment's notice, he gritted his
teeth and snatched the leaf,
emitting
a small crunch, and tossed it with its relatives in the dispose pile.
"
De? What's this about a boy band?"
Yamato questioned.
As
if he had forgotten before, the younger blonde raised his eyebrows and shuffled
through his pocket. With some hunting,
he pulled out a sheet of paper
and
gave it to the older pair.
"
A local contest? I thought you said
that your connections would get you past these small fries."
"
Well, they can't do ALL the work... even though we're starting off small, we've
got a great manager and the equipment to make THE best music. I guess
I
meant more on the potential side when I said all that..." Takeru idly
tilted his head, slightly shamed at being misinterpreted. " This contest
just
happens
to be the earliest event to help us get a feel of what live performance is
around here. After that, we'll start
tearing the charts."
"
Are you that confident that you'll even win the local contest? We just might make it worse," Taichi
gave a dry grin.
"
You guys are in orchestra, right?
You'll do fine. Plus, you've got
other talents that we younger people don't.
We can use that kind of stuff."
"
I wouldn't apply that to all of the orchestra students..." Yamato nudged a
muttering Taichi while trying to keep a straight expression toward Takeru.
Takeru
looked thoughtful for a moment, then turned his glance toward Taichi. "
Can I assume you're the friend Yamato has been talking about constantly?"
The
brunette in question grinned while a rosy tint smothered itself against
Yamato's cheeks. " Constantly?
Why, of course!" he replied good-heartedly,
vision
darting towards Yamato for a split moment. " Yagami Taichi. Yoroshiku."
"
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu," Takeru said, nodding respectively. The trio spoke casually for several minutes,
with Yamato and Taichi rattling off about
their
wonderful school system with perfect sarcasm.
Takeru spoke mainly about the other Japanese people in his grade,
Daisuke's somewhat queer brashness
and
Ken's contemptuous stillness. Their
personality contrasts were quite amusing if one witnessed them in person,
actually.
"
Okay, we'll try it," Yamato stated out of the blue.
"
Huh?"
"
The band, I mean. What time is your
next meeting?"
Takeru's
already bright face lightened up even further. " Tomorrow at noon,
actually. Just come after lunch or
something," he said, lifting his watch to
his
face. " Oh, I need to get going.
I've got another 'shopping spree,' with okaasan to go to. Ja ne."
Yamato
and Taichi bid their farewells, but didn't spend any extra time dwindling. Not
long after, they went back to their raking. " I'll have to convince
my
mom to let me go. She has this thing
about not letting me do any social activities two days in a row unless they're
completely about my academics."
Taichi
carelessly bent an arm behind his head to itch something the wind had irritated.
" Wow, my parents are just the other way around. They'd jump at
any
opportunity for me to become popular.
They're more than half the reason why I joined the soccer team. Why are your parents like that? Hen desu
ne..."
"
I wouldn't be surprised if they really DID want me to be anti-social. But that's only ONE of their faults..."
"
Yamato..."
Yamato
blinked heavily and looked up at Taichi. " What am I saying? I shouldn't be troubling you with my
problems. You should go home, you've
done too
much
for me already." He turned to focus on the ground, but was forced back by
Taichi's hand on his cheek.
"
I'm not leaving yo-... I'm not leaving, Yamato," he murmured, taking
another step forward to catch a firmer grip of Yamato's unusually soft
flesh. "
You're
going to have to do a lot more than that to get rid of me."
Unable
to think of a reply, Yamato simply stood rigid on the cool fall ground. He'd already opened up to Taichi more than
he ever did to anyone in his
past. It was always the same thing from person to
person; none of them knew anything about the blonde, not even Takeru. Hell, Yamato had never even
cried
in the presence of anyone except Taichi...
'
How does he do that?...' It scared him
that he adored every movement Taichi made, every vibration that sounded his
concern for Yamato. He could have
told
him then. After all, it was the perfect
time. No one else was around... but
then again, he spent a great deal of his time with Taichi. Confessing
after
such a long time would be uneasy to him.
How many times had he passed up the opportunity? Fearing the possible events that would
follow if he
addressed
the issue, he held himself back. The
issue that had plagued him ever since his breakdown...
In
attempt to avoid the situation once more, he absorbed himself in the presence
of the exquisite firey leaves surrounding them.
...What
the fruck? Leaves aren't exquisite...
What
the heck was he doing? His eyes
narrowed droopily. ' Something still seems to be missing. Maybe it just isn't
the right time..."
The
awkward stillness tensed Taichi's position, so he smiled affectionately, then
released his hold on Yamato. " Sa, these leaves aren't going to rake
themselves,
you know."
Yamato
nodded solemnly, ignoring the pain that was enveloping him.
Nothing
else could be more forlorn as Taichi at that moment, as he continued the job at
task. ' Not ready yet, na? I'll still
be waiting when you are,
Yama...'
****
~September
15, 2002~
Taichi's
hand hovered over the brick wall of the hallway for a moment. " There's
something about this place..." He sweeped his hand between the cracks,
flowing
like running water through them. " Vivid and stunning..."
Yamato
whacked him companionately on the head. " Don't get poetic on me right
now. Come on." He yanked a bushel
of his messy brunette hair.
"
Itai naaaaaa! Hanase yo!" Taichi
lashed out on the other, causing the blonde to form a surprised expression.
The
expression quickly reversed to hurt, although the brunette had not intended for
Yamato to see it.
"
Taichi?" he said cautiously. " ...Doushita?"
Taichi
shook his head briefly before resurrecting his usual smile. " Nothing,
really. Guess I just overreacted."
A
small, discrete door with the dark area in the far back was only indicated by a
sliver of yellow tape Takeru had slapped on there. Taichi discovered
that
there was no doorknob and attempted to push the portal, but it wouldn't
budge. He gave it a heave and a ho, and
even a dosukoi, but his efforts
were
still fruitless. The door was like a
sleeping rhinoceros, stubborn and... just plain weird.
Yamato
offered to help, and did so even when the other refused. Still nil.
Still a rhino. They wondered
whether this was some kind of inane joke.
With
a silent transfer of nods, they backed to the other wall and lunged forward
simultaneously, planning to tear away the entry.
As
soon as they made contact with the door, something seemed-- wrong. All of a sudden, there was no
resistance. What they expected to hold
them back
became
nonexistant. Gone, spent, zip. The rhinoceros turned into a dead VCR. Obsolete just like all the other ones. Make way for the DVD. Welcome,
and
enter the world of the new and improved being, the mighty zebra. More sleek, more graceful, brighter colors
(away with the monotone gray!), and
better
sound than the rhinoceros. Sorry,
rhino, DVD's are in.
But
once in motion, still in motion, as Newton's laws go. Or something to that effect.
The duo clattered on the floor on the other side of the door,
the
heavy impact blurring out their senses to dull out the pain that followed. All Taichi could think about was why it was
so difficult before. They
couldn't
possibly overestimate...
"
Yamato, never took you as the type who preferred to be on bottom. How's it like down there?"
Takeru's
voice brought them back, as they realized their promising position was quite
the sight. They scrambled to upright
themselves, scaring off the
dust
on their sleeves and smiling coyly at the audience.
"
I like them already..." said a deep voice in the corner of the room.
" Where did you find them?"
Taichi
and Yamato glanced around and spotted the tall man who appeared before
them. He introduced himself as Ross,
their producer. He was a full foot
taller
than everyone else in the room, everyone being the five boys and Mrs. Hake, who
supervised their progress. It was her
actions that brought
negative
consideration out of Takeru. ' She's just cashing us in,' he had noted, ' Just
like she's hit an oil goldmine.'
"
I've already told you, I've known Yamato ever since I was a little kid,"
the smaller blonde replied.
Eyes
closed, Yamato held back a laugh. " Omae wa mada hanatarekozou."
Takeru's
eye twitched. " Urusei..."
Puzzled
at the conversation, Ross felt the need to keep himself occupied. He spoke to Taichi for a while, exchanging
more introduction and then finally
getting
down to the point. " All right, let's see what you've got."
"
Guh..." Taichi blinked at him, " How?"
Ross
took a step back, surprised to be asked such a simple, yet stupefying question.
' Well, they aren't cocky, that's nice...' However, he still felt
that
they would be able to think of something to show off. Taichi remained confused, getting no response and absolutely
clueless as to what he should
do. He peered over to Yamato, and although the
blonde didn't show it, he seemed to be in just the same state.
Fearing
a bad first (or second) impression, Takeru suggested that they sing an American
son they both knew. They went through
the list of the bands they
knew,
even going through some of the female ones.
But at each turn there was some type of objection. One wouldn't know the band, didn't know any
of
their
songs enough to sing them, or just didn't feel like singing them at the
time. Someone, be it Takeru or Ross,
was about to throw a tantrum at the
neverending
debate, but in the knick of time, the duo finally chose a song...
"
But on the telephone line I am anyone, I am anything I want to be,
I
can be a supermodel or norman mailer
And
you wouldn't know the difference
Cuz
on the telephone line I am any height, I am any age I want to be,
I
can be a caped crusader or space invader
And
you wouldn't know the difference... or would you?"
There
was a complete silence. Ken had stopped
staring at the walls, Daisuke had woken up from an unwanted doze, and there was
some hint of a smirk on
Takeru's
lips. Mrs. Hake was once again shaking,
but attempted to hide it by creeping into the shadows of the walls. Taichi and Yamato were facing each
other,
staring as if... if...
Ross
gave one nod and then clapped his hands together, making a snapping noise that
startled everyone. " Good. Let's
work up a song for the contest,
shall
we?"
****
~September
18, 2002~
Sun
rays glimmered onto Taichi's sleeping face, stimulating a small cringe between
his pores. Another rigorous morning was on its way... After conjuring
up
the will to rouse, he gave one long stretch with his arms and groaned mentally
as the bed creaked from his movements.
His first thought... Lunch that
day
would be French toast sticks with sausage.
Eck. True as it was, the only
thing that motivated him to even wake up to the new day was a certain
blonde
vision that prodded his mind at every available moment.
It
also happened to be right there with him as he walked down the path towards the
school, speaking flippantly on the subject of the annoyance of
telemarketing.
"
There was this one guy who called us at about four in the afternoon asking for
my parents," he went on, " I told him to call back in a couple hours,
and
he started going about saying, ' oh, so you want me to call during dinner time
so you have an excuse to get off? Is
that it? So you don't LIKE
being
called during dinner time! Oh, I
see...'"
Taichi
chuckled lightly. " I haven't seen that on you before, Yamato," the
brunette mused, creating a perfect excuse to observe him, full body from head
to
pert ass-er, toe. Yeah. Lovely... shoe-covered toe... He was clad with a very casual black sweater
that seemed to outline his more attractive
features...
Yamato
took Taichi's head shaking as an opportunity to release the blush he had been
holding back. " My mom bought me some new clothes a few days ago..."
Taichi
slapped his palm on the other's shoulder. " See? Not everything you have are hand me downs."
Remembering
that certain scenario earlier, Yamato hesitated from any further comment. He remained tree-formed for several moments,
trying to keep a
nonchalant
face at the heat near his neck.
The
cello player observed this and fished around his conscious for something to
relieve the tension. " It looks
good on you. I like it."
...Pickles. Wrong word choice, Yagami.
Either
which way, it was something... Taichi brought his hand back into his pant
pocket.
"
Arigatou..." The blush on Yamato's face was more than apparent now, but
Taichi assumed it was because he wasn't used to hearing such compliments.
Himself,
he had lost track of all the fan screams he had received for his soccer playing. Speaking of which, he needed to get a waiver
form to finish
off
his physical education credits...
On
extreme coincidence, Yamato asked, " How's soccer?"
Amusing
how those two words could fit so well with his thoughts. Readjusting the weight on his shoulders (he
always wondered how Yamato could stand
carrying
his violin to and from school so often...), Taichi shrugged as the pair
continued their stroll. " There's some really nice players in this
school,
but I haven't gotten to know them yet.
They haven't really spoken to me."
"
Why not?" Yamato queried, although he probably knew the answer already.
Taichi
slowed his pace on the sidewalk, delaying the arrival to the school that was in
clear sight in front of them. He then
stopped altogether,
bringing
an intrigued look on Yamato's face as he followed. He got one long blank look from the brunette before they
continued on the path again.
'
Heh,' Yamato thought, ' HE knows that I know...the difference.'
****
Tsuzuku...
****
I
warned you about the randomness..
Mm..
much shorter than I wanted, but I did cut out a lot of parts that were
incomplete that will be in the next chapter instead, so expect the next one
to
come a little faster... hopefully. ^_^;
Life has been tough.
Anyone
interested in getting an Mp3 of Savage Garden's Santa Monica can request it to
be sent to their streamload account (http://www.streamload.com)
along
with other requests, check my site for a full list.
Omae
wa mada hanatarekozou-You're still a snotty-nosed kid.
Omake:
Check out the profile section that has been recently completed, with pics for
all 5 Bish Boys ^_^
http://www.dreamwater.org/gottaito/fics/TBB.htm
Some
inspirational reviews would be sugoi... (awesome, spectacular, excellent,
super, extravagant, any other synonyms... okay, now I'm just wasting
word-count
numbers -_-) for they will motivate my muses to conjure up the next chapter if
you so wish it. ^_^
Splash
http://gottaito.cjb.net