Transaction

Disclaimer: Don’t own anything but the idiots of the band Opium!

Author’s Notes: This is, to date, the longest chapter. Word of advice, it’s really hard to find a chapter stopping point when an entire section of the story goes on for so long! It’s not like the longer the better, because each chapter had a purpose and substance, but you don’t want to overload a reader. If I didn’t end the chapter where I did, it would’ve gone on for… at least another three or four pages.

So, thank me for ending it here later! For now, read!
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Transaction

Chapter Seven
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Tohma was already in the recording room, two glasses of rum in him already. It wasn't as though he was a drunk, but he certainly need something to keep easy going and pleasant, or he'd be a quivering wreck at this time of the morning.

It wasn't as though he was one to be plagued with guilt, but he wasn't ready to spend such long hours with Taki sober. Not yet. Eventually he would be able to handle it, all smiles without the drink, but not now.

Taki was practically pushing them into the elevator, and Kenji fell asleep on Keiko's shoulders as the box rose. Haido was quiet in the corner, either asleep with his eyes open, or awake from the day before. Out of all three of the band members, it was Haido Taki worried about.

He could handle Kenji, and he could handle Keiko, but Haido spoke even less then Ken. It made Taki curious, but more suspicious then anything else.

The elevator doors dinged open, and it was back to pushing as they piled out of the elevator. They could sleep on their break for all he cared, but they weren't going to be late today. Taki would jump in front of a car before he let them be late again.

Haido opened the door, and Taki gave Kenji a shove into the room. It was light, but as tired as the singer was, he stumbled forward and caught Keiko's elbow to bring her in with him.

Keiko nearly went down under Kenji's sleeping, dead weight. She wanted to sleep too, damnit! But to hold him up, she stayed awake, leaning her head back against the glass wall of the lift, eyes closed. But it wasn't long before they were pushed and jostled again. She was so very close to hitting Taki.

So. Very. Close.

Haido followed without having to be herded and moved and touched like the others. Still quiet, still bland. He was a washed out little nothing that anyone wouldn't look twice at. Black hair and black eyes, a plain face neither extremely attractive, nor horribly repulsive to look at. He just was.

Keiko fell after Kenji's jerked her and she brought him down with her as they entered the room.

Tohma blinked, staring at the procession before him. A wry smile was on his lips and he began to clap slowly.

"I must say... Your choreographer has a... unique style."

The blond chuckled, walking over to help the two up.

"Now, now Aizawa-san, no hurry, no hurry," he chided lightly. He tended to repeat himself when a bit buzzed. "If I had known it would be such a rough start for you all, I would've made your first day a little later. Aizawa-san, why didn't you tell me? Telling me would've been better."

Ah, but a sadistic bastard Taki was, of course.

Kenji let Tohma help him up, sending Taki a sleepy-eyed glare. "Yeah... I could've gotten some sleep..." He grumbled, rubbing at his eyes with one hand.

Ignoring Kenji, like he did on so many other occasions, Taki shrugged. "A little bit of morning air won't kill them." Kenji snorted like Taki was lying.

Two identical glares met, and Kenji was the first to break the contact, eyes shutting as he yawned widely. Taki shook his head, slipping his hands into his pockets. "It's too late to worry about it now. They're here, even if they aren't awake."

Keiko got to her feet and made her way to a chair. She didn't glare, no point. She would hurt them all later. Yes, all of them would be in such pain...

Haido bowed politely, but said nothing. There was no point. He was here to work, and he would. He just had to wait for Kenji and Keiko to work.

Tohma tsked softly, smiling at Taki. "Of course, of course... still... it seems as though we'll be waiting at least another hour for them to wake up so we can work!"

Taki raised a brow at Tohma, lips quirking up on one side in a 'Oh, yeah?' look. "No, we won't. Kenji."

"What?" The singer was practically growling, his hair a mess in his face because he'd been rubbing his hands through it.

"There's coffee downstairs."

The hands paused, the eyes widened, and the door closed as Kenji left in search of the caffeine. Taki couldn't help his smirk. He understood the rush to leave. Why? Because coffee was the only thing that had pushed him to meet the 'bright and early' schedule, too.

And it was better being addicted to coffee then to smoking. That had been a hard habit for him to break.

Tohma blinked slowly. Well... Kenji could be quite quick couldn't he? Keiko twitched in a light sleep, muttering. Sleeping sitting up always made her irritable in her sleep. But the blond ignored that.

Tohma noticed no one would truly notice anything (or at least say anything if they heard it). He decided to talk with Taki openly.

"Taki, I'm surprised you aren't following your singer out the door," Tohma said, smiling. "After all, wasn't it you who would... well, to put it bluntly, bitch, until you had coffee in your system?"

He turned, gloved fingertips dusting over a few knobs and controls on the board.

"Yes, yes, that was you. But what happened? Have you given up on coffee?"

Tohma highly doubted it.

Taki looked sick at the very idea. Giving up coffee... He'd die, first. "I've been awake since four, and I've had a cup for every hour." Taki shrugged, slipping off his suit jacket and draping it over a chair.

He'd always hated wearing those. Constricting, too warm, and he felt like they were trying to swallow him whole. With the thin button up shirt, he had free movement, and his thin frame wasn't brought down by the extra weight.

It wasn't much, but it was just enough to make him feel heavy.

He glanced at Keiko, shaking his head. "It would be easier if I could figure out what I needed to keep this one awake. Kenji's easy. He's always awake." He nodded toward Haido. "But she's the hardest to get through to."

It was surprising, actually. One would have thought it was Kenji.

Tohma laughed lightly at the face Taki had made, shaking his head. "Of course, of course, what was I thinking? You and coffee not together? Mm, too strange, too strange."

The blond looked over at Keiko, who was apparently trying her best to curl up in the chair, almost laying flat across the seat that was obviously far too small. Humans were quite a wonder sometimes.

"Cattle prod?" Tohma suggested, eyebrows raised. "Well... when you wake her up before she's ready to wake up naturally, what's she like?"

Maybe they could just work through it. And... well, Tohma could ask all he wanted. He was working right with them from now on.

Taki rubbed his arm like it hurt, shaking his head. "I had to start taking away blunt, sharp, and mobile objects from around her before waking her up. Now I just send Kenji in to do it, though it's likely he'll fall asleep on the way there."

He stifled a yawn of his own, pushing a hand through his hair without realizing it. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, then settled it evenly between them both again. "A cattle prod might be more efficient."

Maybe he would get them rescheduled for later in the morning. Waking up early might not kill them, but it would certainly hurt all of them. Except maybe Tohma, who looked as awake as he always did.

It was almost disgusting.

"Really?" Tohma asked, looking back as Keiko's sleeping form (which had seemingly managed the impossible. She was resting awkwardly against a wall, her body curled up and contorted on the chair. Tohma didn't see how that could be comfortable at all) with a bit of respect and surprise.

A violent streak? How... pleasant.

"Well then... perhaps cold water," the blonde said, more hesitantly this time. He didn't wish to be Kenji at all. The poor guy must seriously have a few injuries and stories to tell.

"Either way, Taki, I'm sure we can schedule time later in the afternoon. After all, I want a band that can perform at its peak at all times; rehearsal and concerts," Tohma said firmly.

The blond felt his buzz start to recede, and though he felt able to stand being in the same room as Taki, a part of him mourned the loss of the misty tingle behind his eyes. Another part scolded himself for missing it so.

Perform at all times? Taki had to bite back a snort. Unlikely, at best. 'Fickle' was a good word to describe Opium. If Kenji wasn't being a flake, he was arguing with Keiko, or sulking. Fickle was a very good word.

Where the hell was Kenji, anyway? The fool had probably gotten lost.

"I'm sure you'll do nothing but help them." Taki tried hard to keep the scathing tone from his voice, succeeding on a small level. He deserved a cookie for that one.

He should get half hour treats for behaving so well.

Kenji came back into the room, holding a cup of coffee like it was the most sacred thing in the world.

"Ah, Sonoda-san," Tohma greeted happily, smiling as he watched the way the singer treated his coffee. So much like many of the employees here. They would do just fine. "I'm glad to see you've found the coffee... now... if perhaps you could handle your friend, Takashi-san..."

The blond certainly wouldn't force it on anyone if it was as bad as Taki made it sound. Keiko just didn't look volatile. She almost looked harmless asleep like that if you had asked Tohma.

Kenji's eyes widened in something akin to fear, and he took a long drink from the cup in his hand. "Right." He was so dead. Setting down the coffee cup as far away from Keiko as he could, Kenji braced himself. It was almost a visible thing.

Taki raised one unimpressed brow. Sometimes, it was almost shocking how fast coffee worked on Kenji.

Crouching in front of the chair, Kenji looked up at Keiko and pulled on her hand. Then her arm. And then her hair. "Keeeeeei..." He whined, ready to launch himself back if she tried to hit him. "Kei! I think I stepped on your Hyde CD!"

Every morning, it was a different mistake, a different CD or something important. Kenji had actually only stepped on one of her CDs once, and the bruises had lasted for weeks, but it was an effective way to get her up. Other times, he would simply flop down on top of her, and she'd kick herself awake trying to get him off.

It was like a cartoon where the awoken character would have a shattering glass sound effect when the eyes shot open. You could almost hear the same as Keiko's eyes pop open wide out of sleep and a hand shot out right away, knocking Kenji in the side of the head.

"You little shit!" she was already ranting. "How could you? Don't you ever watch where you're going?"

Okay, even though Keiko left everything a mess... he could still be more careful.

Keiko sat up, ignoring the stiffness in her shoulders and neck that was almost painful and landed a foot dead center in his chest, shoving him backwards.

"You are SO paying for that one!"

She got up, making to take up a chair, when Tohma clear his throat. She almost ignored it... and then she remembered where she was. And why her Hyde CD was probably perfect and unbroken back at her place.

...

Keiko blinked, feeling the color drain from her face. "Um. Good morning..."

The foot in his chest hurt, but Kenji was laughing too hard to notice. He was on his back, on the floor, but the moment was just too priceless for him to get up.

Taki looked less then thrilled, though inwardly he was pleased that Keiko was up and Kenji had lived through it. He reached down and pulled the hysteric singer to his feet, wincing as pressure was added to his leg.

"Are we ready to work now?" He asked, voice stony.

Kenji was still snickering, reaching for his coffee as he nodded. "Sure. Whatever you say, Manager Man."

Taki grit his teeth, and reminded himself that he couldn't kill Kenji until their contract was through. Next time, though, he would be right behind Keiko with another chair.

Okay, she was awake now. Tired still, but not enough to fall over asleep somewhere. But Keiko refused to be embarrassed. She crossed her arms defiantly and stared at the wall above Taki's head.

"Ready when the idiot is done drowning himself in caffeine," she muttered snappily.

Tohma hid his smile behind a hand, though his eyes gave it away. She was too funny. The way Keiko and Kenji acted, it was as though this was not only a regular occurrence for work, but outside of it too.

"Well, I'm excited to get started," Tohma finally said, trying not to laugh. "I'd really like to hear what you can do."

Taking a large drink, Kenji set the empty cup down again. Caffeine and sugar had always had an opposite effect for him, though sugar was undoubtedly worse for putting him down. He had an energy boost, and it leveled out, leaving him practically normal.

ADHD or whatever. Kenji didn't care.

"I'm ready. Let's go." He grinned, rocking back and forth with wide, expectant eyes.

Taki forced himself to stay calm. He couldn't get angry without a right. Technically, they were only waiting on Kenji. The thought was practically enough to make the anger hate.

"Come on. We're in studio four." Studio four, on this floor. There were too many floors in the building used for recording for there to be strictly numeric names.

He didn't look to Tohma for approval, simply turned and expected those who needed to be there, or needed the guidance down the hall to follow him.

Sometimes, he felt less like a manager and more like a babysitter. It wasn't at all a pleasant feeling.

Keiko muttered angrily as she followed them out, walking beside Kenji, shoving him from time to time. She was still pissed. Really pissed it seemed as she tried to shove him into an opening door.

Tohma walked side by side with Taki as Haido walked silently with the group, but not partaking. What a strange person he was. Tohma didn't think he'd heard a word out of the boy since the very first meeting.

"So, Aizawa-san, what have you planned out today?"

"They're going to start re-recording their album. We had inferior machines," Not to say their music was inferior, just the machines. "So the tracks we finished were below their skill level."

Sure, he may not like them much, Kenji irritated the crap out of him, but he was good.

Taki sighed as Kenji narrowly missed getting smacked in the nose with a door, and watched as he shoved Keiko back. It was so hard to get anything done with those two. They were practically siblings, and they acted that way all the time.

It made him appreciate Haido's silence. The kid was good at what he did, if a little creepy.

"There's almost an entire CD ready, they just need to redo their tracks, and finish the last two songs."

Tohma nodded, watching and sidestepping as Keiko stumbled through their conversation, stopping herself on the wall. She practically growled, looking like she was going to throw herself at Kenji.

Tohma cut her off.

"Takashi-san, I've been meaning to ask you something," the blond said easily. She blinked and tried not to look too pissed off.

"Uh, sure..."

"How did you and Sonoda-san meet? You two are either very close, or you want to kill each other," he chirped happily.

Keiko looked over at Kenji, almost smiling. "Well... it's a funny story..."

Kenji returned her almost-smile with a half-grin of his own. It was funny now, but then? It had hurt like hell. "I was about... twelve, right?" His brow furrowed, and he didn't realize they'd stopped in the hall. "Close to twelve, anyway, and..." He frowned again, story coming to a halt.

"It needs some back-story." He decided aloud, nodding. "When I was a kid, I was short, fat, and obnoxious."

Taki raised a brow. He was inclined to think the 'obnoxious' part hadn't changed.

"My face looked like this." Kenji brought up his hands and squished his cheeks in, lips poofing out like an exaggerated fish. He lowered his hands, shrugging. "Anyway, there were these guys at school who hated me, and they were kicking me around the neighborhood." Almost literally. "Eventually I hit her door, and-"

Keiko was laughing and nodding a bit. She picked up the story where Kenji left off.
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Author’s Notes: I’m really bored and haven’t slept, so I decided to put up another chapter! This is where things started getting messy. We had three band member that weren’t supposed to be important, and two main characters that should’ve been the main focus. Suddenly, we have a back story for two of them and we were passing Haido back and forth to fill in space. I didn’t want him to feel left out.

Little did we know what would happen…

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~Subby