Transaction

Disclaimer: We own… ah, crap. You guys know by now.

Author’s Notes: Chapter twelve! What an accomplishment. I guess. I still have so many more chapters to make and then go over again. I writers work is never done. O Sigh! Anyways, enjoy!
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Transaction

Chapter Twelve
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Tohma sighed, but let him go on his own. Stubborn no matter what. Sometimes Tohma wondered if any of it was worth the effort. He would certainly like to think so, and yet...

It seemed as though his help was always wasted. No, not wasted, but shunned.

He cupped his chin in his hand and smiled slightly. Dear Taki... what will become of him? The bullheadedness had certainly gotten him this far, but as the song went 'we all need a little help, from our friends'.

One day, Tohma supposed. One day he would accept help.

The blond got to his feet, dusting himself off from invisible motes of dirt and started up the stairs.

~x~

"So, Aizawa-san, I regretfully have to inform you that I can no longer hold such a personal position with you and your band," Tohma said to the entire band collected in the meeting room he had called them into a week after their first practice. "Rest assured, the work I've done with you already is most likely more than enough for you to keep going on, and I will be checking in periodically like I do with all my bands. I'm sorry if this will be making things harder for you, but I have full confidence that you can handle things on your own."

Tohma smiled at all of them pleasantly, giving a small shrug.

"Personal matters have come up, and I can no longer invest such personal time into one band. I hope you all can understand this. Any questions?"

Taki was forcing himself to keep his face blank, because if he didn't, it would be giving away the frustration he'd been suppressing for days. He should have expected it. Tohma was so fucking fickle. He picked up a band, and then dropped them as if they weren't worth the effort.

It was sick.

"No, sir." Taki managed a smile, somehow managing not to break his face while he did it. "I'm sure we'll be fine. I'll be sure to keep you updated on our progress."

Updated, his ass. Tohma could come get an update if he wanted one.

"Be sure that you do, Aizawa-san," Tohma said pleasantly. "I will have little time to come and get such things myself."

Was any of it true? To a point. He was acquiring quite a workload from just the week he'd spent with Opium. Paperwork and record deals, signings and show dates... It all had started to get a tad overwhelming. In fact, he did have another meeting to get to with another band after this.

In actuality though, Tohma was more or less applying another lesson. A subtle form of help. Taki knew what it was like to work with a band in a small time format. This was the big games. Could handle the strict schedules and timelines set for each and every section of their lives?

Or...

Or would he just have to ask for help?

"Well, I'll be seeing you soon, no doubt. Feel free to stop by my office at any time for anything. Good afternoon," the blond said, putting an end to the meeting finally.

Taki stood and barely nodded before he was heading for the door. Tohma was either turning into more of a flake then he remembered, or he was doing this on purpose. Giving him just enough time to get used to having more then three people around, and then leaving.

Sick bastard.

He left, listening to the sounds of Kenji, Haido, and Keiko getting out of their seats. Dimly, he heard the sound of Kenji nudging Keiko hard enough to make her yelp.

Kenji didn't seem to mind, though, dragging Keiko close to whisper something in her ear. "Did you see that? He was doing the death glare at Seguchi again!"

He was going through phases, though neither plan left his mind for long. They were simply distractions from each other, the mystery behind Taki's history with Tohma, and Haido.

Haido. Kenji could have sighed. He had absolutely no idea what to do.

Keiko rubbed her side. That hurt! She rolled her eyes as Kenji tried to, yet again, prove that there was something worth investigating between Taki and Tohma. What a freak.

"Fine! We'll work on finding an ASK member after practice today, okay?" she hissed back, trying to elbow him.

Haido was listening to everything with only half an ear with everything. More or less, the few things on his mind were music and his random thoughts. He cared little for the people around him, he'd always been somewhat of a loner.

It kind of kept him more occupied and able to keep focused.

His father had walked out on him and his mother when he was barely turning thirteen. After all this time, Haido wasn't sure if he was angry or not. It was a little hard to tell seeing as how his emotion felt a little washed out all the time.

And yet... there seemed to be something that had sparked him lately. Something other than music.

Kenji.

He glance over the obnoxious boy, and though he was continually roughhousing with his female friend, certainly there must've been room to add him in. After all, Kenji had asked him to join the band out of the blue one day. And each day that went by, Haido could honestly say it wasn't as interesting unless Kenji was around doing something. He was just... interesting.

Kenji's grin could have split a brick. One long arm wrapped around Keiko's shoulders for a half hug as they walked. "Okay. Let's go practice, then!" He started pulling her after Taki, who was already far down the hall.

He glanced back, though, and caught a dark gaze with his own. The stare lasted for only a second before he forced himself to look forward again, grin gone from his face.

It was back to confusion, in under a full second.

Haido just did that to him. The curiosity burned and ate at him, digging deep into his stomach and burrowing there. It was uncomfortable, and it made him itch, want to do something about it.

But how could he if he didn't know how to start a conversation with him? Asking him to join the band had been easy. All he'd had to do was ask, no preamble. But a conversation?
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Author’s Notes: We finally have something from Kel! Here’s her personal insight on Kenji.

'Kenji started out as an accident. Especially his name. I don't like making characters with names of people I know, because I always end up trying to write the person instead of the character. It was awkward, and that sort of shows in the first few chapters he's in. I was trying really hard to make him something he wasn't.

But, all Kenji was supposed to be was the loser Taki could beat up on when he was having a bad day. I didn't mean for Kenji to turn into a main part of the plot, or to develop an obsession with Iceman (my favorite band ever, by the way), or to end up looking very much like a skinnier, gay version of Kenichi Ito (see Iceman).

I think, actually, that this story started out to be an angst filled one shot for Taki and Tohma. The next however many chapters are a product of some seriously cracked up ideas, and probably not enough sleep.

I'm pretty sure I was only supposed to write about Kenji, but I forgot how to write an effective author's note.'

And that’s Kel for you ladies and gents. She’s so optimistic, isn’t she? ^.^ And now, the plot thickens!

~Subby