Chapter 3 - Cute as a Button, Sharp as a Pin
Submitted June 5, 2004 Updated June 5, 2004 Status Incomplete | BAD LUCK and ASK are to share the stage once more!
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Chapter 3 - Cute as a Button, Sharp as a Pin
Chapter 3 - Cute as a Button, Sharp as a Pin
“I lllloooosssstttt Rrrryyyuuuukkkkooooo,” stammered Sakano, cowering into a corridor corner, Sara Fujisaki still clinging for dear life to his leg.
Michael fought the urge to shoot the foolish man, “She couldn’t have gotten far. Ryu-chan probably wandered into one of the other bands’ rooms.”
Young Himeka folded her arms, displeased, “You’re very irresponsible Sakano-san.” She felt proud for knowing such a big word. “My grandpa fires people like you. Could you baby-sit my brother and lose him too?”
Sakano-san snivelled pathetically
~@~
A Bad Luck ball cap; A Bad Luck backpack; A Bad Luck t-shirt…
“I’m guessing you’re a fan of Bad Luck,” chirped Ken-chan, smiling at the silent child who stood a good distance away from the three men of ASK. Perhaps she was mute.
“I’ll call security,” declared Taki Aizawa, going for the room’s phone, “they can deal with her.”
Ken-chan’s eyes widened, racing to stop him from making the call, “But they’ll keep her locked up till they find out where she came from; She’ll be scared and alone!”
“But there’s no other way we can handle this,” Ma-kun told him, “We don’t even know the kid’s name.”
The three musicians faced the uneasy child. Ken-chan slipped off his cool shades, and bent to the girl’s level. He smiled, tilting his head slightly up in homes of seeing her face more clearly between her locks of hair and the shadows caused by the cap. “Can you talk?”
Nervously, she wrung her sweaty hands, slowly nodding.
“Then why don’t you say hello? My name’s – “
“Ken Komatsu,” she softly finished.
Ken-chan gasped, falling over. “Wah?!”
“The keyboardist for ASK,” she finished and then continued with, “and that is Taki Aizawa, vocalist, and the other man is Mayuhiko Nobi, the guitarist for ASK. You have so far released three albums and are currently in production of your fourth. ASK is signed to Genexis, whose sales often coincide with NG Productions, however Genexis is yet to measure up and always falls short. You were once signed to NG with a promising future, though due to undisclosed reasons by president, Tohma Seguchi, your contract was cancelled. Now you’re lost in a sea of uncertainty, wondering if you’ll ever make the sales you were predicted to reach.”
Ma-kun and Ken-chan stared in perplexed awe at the articulation of the little girl, who moments ago hadn’t peeped a word. Now she was summing up their career with clear precision! Taki however wasn’t in awe; furious at the nerve of the girl, in his haste he grabbed a nearby chair and was readying to beat the brat with it. “Why you little…!”
His band mates jumped on him before he could get to the girl. “Tachi, calm down!”
The girl drew back, smiling cutely. “Um…was I wrong?”
~@~
Michael Winchester massaged his forehead. Ryuko Sakuma was nowhere to be found; Sakano-san’s wails had grew louder; Himeka Nakano wouldn’t shut up as she attempted to use as many adult words as possible; and worse still, Sara Fujisaki was no clinging to Michael’s back, her awesome grip threatening to break his spine.
“Sakano-san, wouldn’t it just be easier to tell everyone we lost Ryuko; what are you so afraid of?”
“Those irritating doges,” grumbled an approaching cranky monotone voice, “making me pay for their fracking drinks…”
Sakano-san started up, “Yuki-san!”
Eiri choked, noticing the children, “Oh, sorry…you didn’t just hear that, did you…?”
Himeka proudly smiled, “I know what a dog is!”
“OK, you did,” he sighed, mentally kicking himself, “try to erase that from your memory.”
“Erase what?”
“Good girl,” Eiri stared at the group, someone was missing, he frowned, “Sakano-san, where’s my daughter?”
Sakano gulped, twiddling his thumbs, considering all the nasty, violent things Eiri Yuki would do to him if he discovered he’d lost his only child while in a simple game of hide-and-seek. Trembling, he wiped his sweaty brow. “Wwweeeelll…Yuuuukkiii-sssaannnn yyyooouuu seeee…”
“We’re playing hide-and-seek,” explained Michael in a casual manner, “Ryu-chan’s the last person to find, she’s really good at this game.”
Eiri looked at the calm boy, then to Sakano. Something seemed up with the latter, but then again, he always was a nervous fellow. “OK. See you later.” Eiri walked passed them, accepting Michael’s explanation, which wasn’t exactly a lie.
Michael turned to Bad Luck’s jittery producer, “You make a convincing argument, Sakano-san. OK troops, we have a tiny tot to track down. Forward – MARCH!” Sara clung tighter to his back, Michael gasped for air.
~@~
Taki sat opposite the well-informed child, who was eating a packet of crisps. Every now and then she looked up from her munching to face his deep rose eyes with her gypsy-like emerald eyes. For someone as young as her, possibly five to seven years, she had great knowledge of not only their band, but most other people in the music scene. She expressed her knowledge like a young scholar giving a lecture. Taki was certain her father or mother had to have been a music executive or important manager.
“Nope,” she innocently replied, finishing the packet, sucking the flavouring from her fingers, “I like to read.”
“…You like to read?”
She nodded giddily, reminding him this was a kid, not some special scholar. “I read lots of music magazines; Papa says little girls shouldn’t read them, but I do! They’re fun and have neat pictures – lots of Bad Luck too! Do you like reading them, mister?”
Taki blinked, leaning back, “Well…sometimes…usually if I’m in them.”
“You’re not in as many as Bad Luck.”
Taki folded his arms, clearing his throat, “Well…it is only a matter of time…”
“Not according to Bop Peat magazine, they say your last album was bad.”
Taki looked over at Ma-kun and Ken-chan, glaring, as if to say, “See, hitting the brat with that chair WAS a good idea!”
Ken-chan sat beside the girl, patting her head. “Now that we’re all friends, how about you tell us your name?”
The girl pulled a face, staring away, “Papa says not to give my name to strangers.”
“But we’re not strangers now,” Ma-kun kindly offered.
“Yes you are, I’m not falling for that.”
All three men frowned at her; even Ken-chan was ticked by her impertinence. “OK then…what can we call you?”
The young Bad Luck fan looked left, and then right as she hummed to herself, trying to think of a name. “My parents call me Ojou-chan sometimes.”
“Ojou-chan it is!” laughed Ken-chan.
Taki sourly folded his arms, she didn’t seem like any lady to him. Ladies usually knew how to show respect to their elders. “Now…Ojou-chan, can you tell us where you came from so we can take you back to your parents?”
Ojou-chan smiled widely, “Oh, can you take me to Bad Luck?”
“I’m not playing here,” Taki scowled, “where did you come from?”
“Bad Luck…”
“OK then, if you’re going to be that way you can sit there while we rehearse and when you’re ready to behave you tell us where you came from – or I’m calling security.”
Ryuko, or Ojou-chan as they referred to her as, sank low in her seat. “But…what about Bad Luck?”
They weren’t listening, not even Ken-chan. They were too busy preparing their equipment for another round of practice.
Michael fought the urge to shoot the foolish man, “She couldn’t have gotten far. Ryu-chan probably wandered into one of the other bands’ rooms.”
Young Himeka folded her arms, displeased, “You’re very irresponsible Sakano-san.” She felt proud for knowing such a big word. “My grandpa fires people like you. Could you baby-sit my brother and lose him too?”
Sakano-san snivelled pathetically
~@~
A Bad Luck ball cap; A Bad Luck backpack; A Bad Luck t-shirt…
“I’m guessing you’re a fan of Bad Luck,” chirped Ken-chan, smiling at the silent child who stood a good distance away from the three men of ASK. Perhaps she was mute.
“I’ll call security,” declared Taki Aizawa, going for the room’s phone, “they can deal with her.”
Ken-chan’s eyes widened, racing to stop him from making the call, “But they’ll keep her locked up till they find out where she came from; She’ll be scared and alone!”
“But there’s no other way we can handle this,” Ma-kun told him, “We don’t even know the kid’s name.”
The three musicians faced the uneasy child. Ken-chan slipped off his cool shades, and bent to the girl’s level. He smiled, tilting his head slightly up in homes of seeing her face more clearly between her locks of hair and the shadows caused by the cap. “Can you talk?”
Nervously, she wrung her sweaty hands, slowly nodding.
“Then why don’t you say hello? My name’s – “
“Ken Komatsu,” she softly finished.
Ken-chan gasped, falling over. “Wah?!”
“The keyboardist for ASK,” she finished and then continued with, “and that is Taki Aizawa, vocalist, and the other man is Mayuhiko Nobi, the guitarist for ASK. You have so far released three albums and are currently in production of your fourth. ASK is signed to Genexis, whose sales often coincide with NG Productions, however Genexis is yet to measure up and always falls short. You were once signed to NG with a promising future, though due to undisclosed reasons by president, Tohma Seguchi, your contract was cancelled. Now you’re lost in a sea of uncertainty, wondering if you’ll ever make the sales you were predicted to reach.”
Ma-kun and Ken-chan stared in perplexed awe at the articulation of the little girl, who moments ago hadn’t peeped a word. Now she was summing up their career with clear precision! Taki however wasn’t in awe; furious at the nerve of the girl, in his haste he grabbed a nearby chair and was readying to beat the brat with it. “Why you little…!”
His band mates jumped on him before he could get to the girl. “Tachi, calm down!”
The girl drew back, smiling cutely. “Um…was I wrong?”
~@~
Michael Winchester massaged his forehead. Ryuko Sakuma was nowhere to be found; Sakano-san’s wails had grew louder; Himeka Nakano wouldn’t shut up as she attempted to use as many adult words as possible; and worse still, Sara Fujisaki was no clinging to Michael’s back, her awesome grip threatening to break his spine.
“Sakano-san, wouldn’t it just be easier to tell everyone we lost Ryuko; what are you so afraid of?”
“Those irritating doges,” grumbled an approaching cranky monotone voice, “making me pay for their fracking drinks…”
Sakano-san started up, “Yuki-san!”
Eiri choked, noticing the children, “Oh, sorry…you didn’t just hear that, did you…?”
Himeka proudly smiled, “I know what a dog is!”
“OK, you did,” he sighed, mentally kicking himself, “try to erase that from your memory.”
“Erase what?”
“Good girl,” Eiri stared at the group, someone was missing, he frowned, “Sakano-san, where’s my daughter?”
Sakano gulped, twiddling his thumbs, considering all the nasty, violent things Eiri Yuki would do to him if he discovered he’d lost his only child while in a simple game of hide-and-seek. Trembling, he wiped his sweaty brow. “Wwweeeelll…Yuuuukkiii-sssaannnn yyyooouuu seeee…”
“We’re playing hide-and-seek,” explained Michael in a casual manner, “Ryu-chan’s the last person to find, she’s really good at this game.”
Eiri looked at the calm boy, then to Sakano. Something seemed up with the latter, but then again, he always was a nervous fellow. “OK. See you later.” Eiri walked passed them, accepting Michael’s explanation, which wasn’t exactly a lie.
Michael turned to Bad Luck’s jittery producer, “You make a convincing argument, Sakano-san. OK troops, we have a tiny tot to track down. Forward – MARCH!” Sara clung tighter to his back, Michael gasped for air.
~@~
Taki sat opposite the well-informed child, who was eating a packet of crisps. Every now and then she looked up from her munching to face his deep rose eyes with her gypsy-like emerald eyes. For someone as young as her, possibly five to seven years, she had great knowledge of not only their band, but most other people in the music scene. She expressed her knowledge like a young scholar giving a lecture. Taki was certain her father or mother had to have been a music executive or important manager.
“Nope,” she innocently replied, finishing the packet, sucking the flavouring from her fingers, “I like to read.”
“…You like to read?”
She nodded giddily, reminding him this was a kid, not some special scholar. “I read lots of music magazines; Papa says little girls shouldn’t read them, but I do! They’re fun and have neat pictures – lots of Bad Luck too! Do you like reading them, mister?”
Taki blinked, leaning back, “Well…sometimes…usually if I’m in them.”
“You’re not in as many as Bad Luck.”
Taki folded his arms, clearing his throat, “Well…it is only a matter of time…”
“Not according to Bop Peat magazine, they say your last album was bad.”
Taki looked over at Ma-kun and Ken-chan, glaring, as if to say, “See, hitting the brat with that chair WAS a good idea!”
Ken-chan sat beside the girl, patting her head. “Now that we’re all friends, how about you tell us your name?”
The girl pulled a face, staring away, “Papa says not to give my name to strangers.”
“But we’re not strangers now,” Ma-kun kindly offered.
“Yes you are, I’m not falling for that.”
All three men frowned at her; even Ken-chan was ticked by her impertinence. “OK then…what can we call you?”
The young Bad Luck fan looked left, and then right as she hummed to herself, trying to think of a name. “My parents call me Ojou-chan sometimes.”
“Ojou-chan it is!” laughed Ken-chan.
Taki sourly folded his arms, she didn’t seem like any lady to him. Ladies usually knew how to show respect to their elders. “Now…Ojou-chan, can you tell us where you came from so we can take you back to your parents?”
Ojou-chan smiled widely, “Oh, can you take me to Bad Luck?”
“I’m not playing here,” Taki scowled, “where did you come from?”
“Bad Luck…”
“OK then, if you’re going to be that way you can sit there while we rehearse and when you’re ready to behave you tell us where you came from – or I’m calling security.”
Ryuko, or Ojou-chan as they referred to her as, sank low in her seat. “But…what about Bad Luck?”
They weren’t listening, not even Ken-chan. They were too busy preparing their equipment for another round of practice.
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