Transaction

Disclaimer: Blah.

Author’s Notes: Not much to say except 'good morning' to everyone. Here's your morning update.

Enjoy.
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Transaction
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Chapter Thirty-Seven
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"I'm sorry, Chiba-san, what?" Tohma asked pleasantly, looking as if it was a joke.

"Sonoda-san will not be returning today," Haido said clearly, if not with a bit of attitude.

"What the hell did you do to him?" Keiko spat, throwing her pack of cigarettes at Haido.

He let it hit him in the head and flinched. "Couldn't be worse than the beating you administered previous," he said flatly.

Keiko kicked his chair out from under him. "Shut the hell up. You don't understand anything."

He groaned, moving away from Keiko, rubbing the back of his head. He'd heard it connect with the floor more than felt it.

"Y'know, people keep telling me that, but the funny thing is, no one tried to help me understand. Go figure," he said with a shrug, getting to his feet.

"Oh my," Tohma said simply, smiling though his eyes were not amused. Oh my indeed. It seemed as though the drama had not gone away. "I'm sorry, could you two please stop. And preferably sit as far away from each other as possible, while not speaking until I say otherwise?"

It sounded like a question, but it was an order. Haido righted his chair and sat back down staring at the table.

Taki's arms were crossed over his chest, and he leaned against the wall. He didn't seem phased as Haido fell from his chair, though it was the first truly violent thing he'd seen Keiko do to the synth player. Discrepancy in the ranks?

Oh, my. Tohma had such a way of understating the problem.

"I don't think it's just today we have to worry about." He said at last, pushing away from the wall and approaching Tohma, though he was looking at Keiko. "Aren't you the one that told me that Kenji was stubborn when he set his mind to it?"

The smile on his face was horribly bemused as he looked at Tohma, and it occurred to him that he shouldn't be finding the situation funny when they had a concert coming up in less then a month, and no singer to be found.

"I don't think he's coming back at all."

"Now hold on!" Keiko said, stepping towards them. "Kenji'll come back, Aizawa-san! He will. This is what he wants."

Tohma held up a hand. "So then, it depends which portion of his stubbornness is stronger. The stubbornness that will make him a star, or his stubbornness to avoid whatever he is so intent on avoiding."

Haido said nothing as his fists clenched under the table on his thighs, head lowered.

"Well, if a certain asshole was just a little more considerate-"

"Enough, Takashi-san," Tohma said sternly. "I care nothing about your personal lives. I don't care who is screwing who, who is cheating on who, et cetera. All I care about is work. I don't care if Sonoda-san is upset, all I care about is if he will be returning to work tomorrow, or if he has quit."

There was some absurd sense of hilarity in it all. Taki wanted to laugh, he really did, because it seemed just too funny. Who would have known it would blow up in their faces? They certainly hadn't considered Kenji acting like a prepubescent girl.

"Find him and ask." It seemed perfectly reasonable to him, and Taki knew that pointing out the obvious this way was going to ruffle the feathers he would have been better off leaving smooth. "At least one of you has to have his phone number."

The full weight of the situation hadn't hit him, and he knew it wouldn't. He thought it was funny, and that wouldn't help them think realistically at all. Sure, Kenji was gone, but it was so, so fucking funny.

Because they had a concert in a month, and no singer. Orchestras didn't work when people expected lyrics.

Tohma looked at the two bandmates thoughtfully. Alright, Kenji was angry with Haido, which caused Keiko to eventually choose sides and defend Kenji. All of this meant... nothing. It was stupid, and once everything between the band was good again, they would find this funny.

Right now, Tohma was not laughing.

"You two will be left in charge of finding Kenji and bringing him in to work tomorrow," the blond said.

"I don't need his help," Keiko spat, glaring at Haido.

"I won't leave you to beat him just to get him to come here," Haido snapped back.

"What was that?"

"You heard me."

"You little worthless-"

"Enough!" Tohma interrupted. "I am not your father, you are not my children, and I refuse to have everyone acting as such!"

His voice was still quiet, but there was nothing pleasant in his demeanor anymore. He was not happy with how this was turning out. Was nothing simple anymore? The plan seemed perfect when Tohma had teamed up with Taki for it. He forgot about not being able to master the people he played with.

"You two will find Kenji, I don't care how, and you will either bring him in to work, or come back saying that he has quit," Tohma explained. "Aizawa-san, my office. Now, please."

Tohma got up from the table and left the room without a word, or waiting for Taki to follow.

There was just something about seeing Seguchi Tohma angry that could drain the hilarity from a man. And Taki knew he was angry. This was the same quiet intensity he had been faced with only years before. It made him feel sober, quiet, and he nodded as Tohma left.

Right. 'My office' pretty much translated into, 'Follow me now, bitch.'

Who was he to say no?

Glancing at Haido and Keiko, who each looked ready to tear the others throats out, he shook his head and left the room. He knew the signs, yes, and that had to have something to do with why he was so amused. Young bands were made to fall apart, and Opium was well along the path to separation.

He had to wonder if they would pull through it, hands slipping into his pockets as he made the well known trek to Tohma's office.

Tohma strode down the hall, not looking as though he was glowering, but he was. He did have the manners to wait and hold the elevator for Taki. He probably shouldn't be rushing. Especially with Taki's legs as they were. Oh well.

"I want this fixed Taki," he said as he entered the lift and the doors closed. Tohma hit his floor button. "They either get some sense knocked into them, or I drop them. Unfortunately, with the contract, if I drop them, you go too."

The doors opened with a small ding.

A flash of panic that he didn't understand. Taki's arms crossed loosely over his chest, and he nodded. He had never seen Tohma's face like that. Angry, and obviously so. He had seen Tohma express it in his eyes, yes, but never in an open scowl.

If nothing else, that made the panic solid in his chest.

"What do you want me to do?" He asked, voice only a little unsure. He didn't know what to do, but he'd do it if Tohma asked. When had that stupid contract become so damn important? He didn't know, and he found himself beginning to not care.

What to do indeed.

Tohma exited the elevator and walked passed his secretary in silence, Taki behind. He resisted the urge to throw his office door open, slamming it into the wall, instead, gently pushing it open and stepping in.

Still he hadn't spoken a word, and his silence continued as he rummaged around and took up his bottle of rum and a glass and sat at his desk, pouring out a cupful. Once he drained it and poured another glass, Tohma sighed and looked over at Taki, scowl still in place.

"I'm not sure," he admitted, and the scowl deepened for a moment in disgust at his own words. Tohma finished off the glass of rum. "I don't know if Keiko will help or harm anything, if Haido can fix anything, and if Kenji can stop being a drama queen. I can't control them as people."

And that was the real problem if you asked him. Tohma poured out another glass and stared out the window.

And the god has fallen.

Taki knew he should have expected it, and he had, on some level. He watched Tohma at the window, and the deep sense of panic faded into something else. Something he didn't recognize, and didn't want to.

He fought off the urge to cross the room and touch Tohma to make sure he was still alive.

"Kenji's always been a drama queen. He'll come around." But it sounded hollow. He didn't want to trust this to Keiko and Haido, but he knew it was just as unlikely that Kenji would listen to him, too. He didn't know if there was anyone Kenji would listen to.

Where had the days gone when he didn't have to worry about anything? Had they disappeared in a flash of headlights, or had he simply gone insane? He was worried about everything. Tohma, Kenji, the band, his job, the contract...

And things he wasn't quite sure what to call.

"Don't be stupid, Taki," Tohma snapped, not looking back at him. "It took a car to bring you around, and though Keiko's rough with him, he's lived with it for so long that it wouldn't change his mind."

He sighed, drinking the third glass, though slower. The burn was starting to hurt instead of pleasantly warming him. He didn't know how to handle this. They were just barely adults and none of them acted like it. The last time he and Taki had gotten involved, something had gone wrong.

"So... do we leave them on their own?" he asked, feeling tired. Old. Tohma didn't know if he could keep up with the drama caused by people younger than he.

If it took a car for him, they needed to use a truck on Kenji. Still, Taki's eyes narrowed, and he shifted his weight self consciously. Yeah, he remembered all about that fucking car.

"I can't think of anything else to do." Taki picked at the cuff of his shirt, flicking the button despondently. "Give him enough time, and Kenji will come around. He'll be miserable doing anything but singing, and he'll come back."

Taki knew he would, because he knew what it felt like. He was miserable doing anything but singing, and he had come back, though through a different position. Still, their situations were different, but it was singing alone that they had in common.

He knew it would work.

"The problem is, we don't have that much time."

"Then we leave them. One week, Taki," Tohma said, finishing his drink, and settling far back into his chair, resting the glass on his desk. "If Kenji is not here on time in one week or sooner... I'm dropping Opium."

And with them went Taki.

"I'd offer you a job right now to keep you, you are good at what you do, but we're a little over staffed. I took you on because you already had a band to manage, and I've got every band hooked up with a manager, if not two," the blond sighed as he closed his eyes.

He didn't need reasons for anything, no one had a right to ask him to explain himself.

"But I'd like to keep Opium on the label," he said, looking over at Taki.

One week, and the deadline was set. Taki could almost hear the clock ticking in the background, and the panic came back. His fingers curled around the cuff of his shirt, but he nodded. He understood.

At least, he thought he did.

There was something wrong with this. Something wrong with him. Taki was not a quiet person, but he couldn't think of anything to say. Just nod, and that wasn't him. Not him at all. Still, it was... kind of comforting that Tohma would hire him if they weren't overstaffed. It didn't secure him a job, but it was nice.

Too bad he didn't care about nice. The only 'nice' he wanted to see was a nice, big bed, so he could sleep and stop thinking.

Tohma sighed again, closing his eyes as he tried to smooth his face back out to normal. If nothing else, he would certainly have to remember to recommend a good anger management class for Keiko. That girl was certainly something to fear.

The blond opened his eyes and pushed himself out of the chair. The alcohol spun his head slightly in a rush. He loved it. It brought a small shadow of a smile to his lips. He walked over to Taki in silence, he wasn't in the mood for words.

Tohma wrapped one hand behind Taki's head and pulled him forward in a hard kiss, his other arm looping around the other man's waist. He pushed Taki's lips apart and for some reason took comfort in this as he coaxed out Taki's tongue.

He would have pulled back, he really would have, but Tohma was strong for a man of such slight build. Taki couldn't pull away, though he did try, not at all surprised he failed. Why was Tohma kissing him when they had more important things to worry about? Like how to get Kenji back in a week, or...

Or...

Or, what?

He was giving up control to his mouth, his arms going up to wrap around Tohma's neck. Just... a little break. It never killed anyone, right? His eyes shut, and the kiss deepened as he welcomed it, fingers curling into the light hair at the back of Tohma's neck.
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Author's Notes: Drama, drama, drama! Again, we see Haido evolving more and more. It's won't stop here. He's finally turning into someone. And Tohma and Taki? What of them? They're just so... perfect. Our character's really came together a lot on this. Well, that's all for now. Don't forget, and update tonight, too!

~Subby