Transaction

Disclaimer: Same as the last chapters!

Author’s Notes: I realize that a lot of this story could be seen as monotonous. We have long conversations in the same place that are supposed to cover hours of time. Kel and I felt we needed those long moments. We wanted the useless banter between Tohma and Taki, because we wanted to know and see how they really reacted with each other. Opium was just supposed to be a filler so we could get to the one shot part.

I know it sounds confusing. Why would we, the writers want to see how our characters acted with each other? Honestly? Cause we just let it flow. We get into the mood of our characters, and what comes out may not be what we planned out on MSN or something, but it’s always good.

Ah, little did we know about Opium and the potential we unwittingly gave them. Enjoy!
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Transaction
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Chapter Eight
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"Okay, so this butterball almost knocks my door down. I was busy and didn't want to be interrupted" really, she'd been watching cartoons and was in a bad mood, but they didn't have to know "so I yank the door open, look out and there's this little guy rolling around my front yard with a bunch of kids laughing."

She started to giggled slightly as she went on.

"So first, I go up to the guys. There were like... three or so. I kicked one in the nuts and he had to be help off with his buddies. They didn't leave without a good dose of cursing. Then I go back to where this idiot is still squirming, help him up... and smack him for interrupting me."

Tohma was almost dumbfounded.

He looked at Kenji. "So... you've stuck by her all this time because she smacked you?"

Kenji laughed. "Not only for the smack. After that, she brought me inside, fed me, and we watched cartoons. She may have a tough, sour exterior, but on the inside, she's a marshmallow."

Hey, how could he not forgive the smack when his sides hurt more then his face did? Kenji hadn't really cared after the second cup of tea, and a piece of cake. Sugar was the way to his heart, even if it did put him to sleep.

It was a damn good thing Keiko had found it, too. Otherwise they never would have gotten to where they were.

"Really, though, I was just glad they weren't kicking me anymore." He rubbed his sides as if they still hurt.

Taki was still struggling with the idea of a fat Kenji. The boy had certainly lost that when he grew, now just under Taki's own height. He was slim, his face was almost feminine, and he was just lanky enough to annoy the hell out of him.

Keiko hit his arm. "I did no such thing! And I am not a fluffy white edible!"

Tohma looked them over, smiling a little. It was cute how they acted, a big question of 'why?' came to mind, but the blond preferred not to ask. It was their business.

"But you looked soooooooo cute" she drawled "snoring and drooling all over my couch."

Wait... didn't that mean she did let him in? Aw, hell.

"Yeah, whatever." Kenji used his height advantage to wrap an arm loosely around Keiko's neck. Then he started dragging her down the hall again. "Come on, let's get to work. When's lunch?"

Taki sighed audibly. There, now. The image of a fat Kenji was easy to imagine after that question. He wondered if the fool realized it was not even seven o'clock in the morning.

What did it matter, so long as he worked?

Taki shook his head, following after Haido, who had finally shown the first flicker of impatience. He was impressed, but Taki knew what to expect. Tohma didn't, and that was all part of the fun.

Keiko struggled in the grip for a bit, before giving up, arms hanging down as she allowed herself to be dragged along. She was still cursing at him though, trying to shove him into the occasional wall for the hell of it.

"They'll feed you the day that you can sing a good song," Keiko said, smiling innocently.

Tohma watched them with either intrigue or awe. He wasn't sure which. They were interesting, but... slightly frightening.

He smiled at Taki, think shoulder lifting in a shrug. "You get used to it, I assume?"

"They never stop, so you get used to it pretty fast." Taki sighed, "I hardly notice anymore. And they bother wondering why they get treated like children." Simply because they acted like it.

He watched as Kenji unhooked his arm, and Taki chose that moment to interrupt. "Our studio is the door just around the corner." And they'd better remember it, too. They'd be all but living in it, soon enough.

This was going to be harder then Taki wanted to admit. Already, he missed the hours he'd spent in a studio much like the one they were approaching, working over the songs again and again until the tune, the vocals... everything matched perfectly.

He missed the stress before a show, and the euphoria that came while he was onstage and well after he was off of it. The make up, the costumes, the sound of Ma and Ken tuning... He missed it all.

But, he didn't let on, expression closed as they went around the corner.

Tohma watched the dark haired man closely for a moment, but said nothing. He just continued smiling as the band made their way to the recording room assigned. Keiko and Kenji seemed to be warming up a bit and dropping the kiddie act as they got closer.

The blond stopped with the rest before the door and filtered in with them. The door shut behind them and Tohma pointed to the room behind the small recording area that had a guitar, a mic and a synth.

"Get to work," he said pleasantly, holding back the word 'children', though it was so tempting to add it on. "Because I'm working with you directly, you will be worked until I am satisfied. Any complaints?"

He looked at the group, a small smile on his face.

"No, sir." Haido finally spoke, one hand on the door that would give them access to the room with the instruments. Kenji gave a salute, and Haido opened the door, letting the three in the band get to their stations.

Kenji was at the microphone instantly, and it was obvious by his smile how much he loved being behind it. This was every kids dream, and they were living it! That was just too awesome for words.

Taki leaned against the machine that would record everything, watching as the band members accustomed themselves with their new instruments. Or, as Keiko and Haido did. Kenji didn't care what he was singing into, as long as he got to sing.

Usually, anyway. Sometimes, it took some convincing.

Haido had the synth turned on, and he had no qualms about starting to play. It was a warm up, and Taki recognized it immediately. One of the first songs they had to redo.

This was the best part of watching this band. Watching that bland, bored looking player come to life behind his keyboard.

And he did, quickly. Haido had the machine up and running in seconds, knobs turned to get the right beat, fingers on the keys, already fast for such an early morning. Kenji whipped around and glared at him, obviously having a problem with the volume.

Quick fingers went up to a simple dial and turned it, Haido giving him a bland shrug and a smile that said, "Oops."

Tohma's eyebrows raised and he looked at Taki, clearly surprised. Not only was Haido quick, but the boy knew what he was doing and he was good. Tohma could always appreciate a good synth player any day of the week. He was certainly impressed.

"Where did you find him?" he asked Taki, who was starting to look pleased. "Did he come with the other two?"

It certainly didn't seem like it. Their music wasn't very complex, but it was a bit unique. Tohma wanted to give him something harder. Test him.

Keiko laughed behind the glass, nudging Kenji in the small of his back with the head of the guitar. They all spoke for a moment, deciding on something. Then they did a silent count and Keiko started in on a few chords.

"It was something between those." Taki shrugged, his arms crossing low on his chest. "I told them they needed something more when I found them. Kenji said he knew a guy, and... that guy was Haido."

He watched as the synth player in question turned dials, and there was a beat thrumming through the room. Heavy, there was no mistaking it as rain like high notes started tinkling over.

"This is one of the songs that needs work." Taki told Tohma, glancing at him. "They're warming up."

The light notes were blended into something with more sound, buttons pushed and dials turned for the electric sound only a synth could create. Guitar and keyboard meeting in a crash that was obviously raw.

Kenji's limbs were loose, and he was shifting with beat, holding onto the microphone with one hand. This was his world, and he didn't care who was on the other side of the glass, so long as it was only him, Keiko, and Haido on this side.

He was singing at the natural time to do so, not really keeping time, and not really caring. He didn't keep time. He sang when he felt like it, when it felt right.

And this just felt... right. They were doing what they'd always wanted to.

Taki turned his eyes back to the band. This was why he was with them. Their sound. And this was why he kept Kenji around. That voice. It could be deep and rich, raw, or even hit some of the notes that Taki himself had never managed.

And when Haido got to work, rewired the microphone through his synth, and that voice came out almost electronic, matching the deeper chords from the guitar and the buzz from the synth... That was when they came together. They were an eclectic group. Not quite one genre, but not quite the next.

Taki thought it was safe to say they were entirely new.

"Oh, he's very good," Tohma said wryly, arms crossing. He watched Haido work with a smooth efficiency that one didn't always see with young kids.

"This is certainly different... it doesn't feel like it's by much though. Like this group has slipped right in between," he mused pleasantly. "Good work, Taki. Maybe you should've become a manager a long time ago."

Keiko was enjoying this to the fullest. It was finally what they had worked for, and damn, it felt great to her.

Taki just shook his head, though Tohma had come to the same conclusions about the band that he had. A manager, before the... accident? Him?

No. Singing was what he did, who he was. This managing thing was just as close as he could get.

Kenji was coming up to the chorus again, and he couldn't help the smile on his face as he sang. So cool. This was so, so fucking cool. How couldn't he be happy, with something like this? Keiko was with him, Haido was, once again, performing perfectly on a song that only needed a little tweaking, and he...

Was awake, doing what he loved. Getting ready to start recording an album.

He had never felt so alive.

Taki was listening again, closely to the way they played. "Listen to this. The way the synth and guitar stop matching up. They need to work on that, but they've been focusing on the introduction. That's good, they need that for people to listen, but the body of the song is what needs the work."

Tohma closed his eyes for a brief moment. Yes, he could hear it. The timing became off, and though it was almost able to be overlooked by the average teenager, but not by anyone working in music. Or so he hoped.

"Well, it's common with young bands. They work on perfect the beginning so much that they neglect the rest of the song," the blond said, pushing a button to let his voice in. "Stop. I need you to start from the second chorus, Sonoda-san, no vocals please. I need you two to play just the music. Your timing is off. I want it completely synchronized."

He glanced over at Taki. Personally, Tohma didn't care if this was a remake or not, if it was being produced by N-G Studios, it was going to be perfect.

"Continue when ready."

Tohma let go of the button and watched expectantly. Keiko had paused and was looking at Haido and Kenji, just being sure. Of course they wouldn't not do as asked, but it couldn't help honest surprise.

They'd get used to it.

Taki watched as Kenji's attitude flared. It was almost a visible thing, his eyes widened, then narrowed dramatically, and he could almost see the indignance rise. He raised a brow as Kenji glanced at him, and shrugged one shoulder.

Tohma was the boss. As much as he hated to work under him (again), you couldn't go up against the boss. Not on the first day.

Kenji sighed, stepping back from the microphone. Haido leaned forward, over the synth, and said something in soft words to Kenji. It didn't seem to help, and Kenji just shrugged, glancing at Keiko.

All of this was enough to make Taki sigh. Honestly, was it so hard? They had to replay the song. He'd made them do it countless of times, and none of them had had such a show of melodramatic reluctance before.

Taki took over the button, seemingly relaxed, though the annoyance was making his muscles tight. "Come on, guys. It's not a recording, we're just getting the song down. We won't record till it's perfect, it's not like you won't have time."

Keiko smiled at Kenji, sticking her tongue out at him. She said something. Tohma guessed it was derogatory, but in a joking manner. Trying to cheer him up.

"My, but isn't he a little angst whore?" Tohma said with a chuckle as Taki released the button. "Does he throw temper tantrums too?"

Certainly, Kenji was almost as bad as Taki when he was working here. Though, the two of them were quite different.

Keiko decided to give up on lightening Kenji's mood and started talking to Haido. They both seemed to nod in agreement, then in time. On a count, they both began playing.

"His mood swings are horrible." Taki sighed. "He'll be happy, bouncing around, and completely obnoxious one minute, and the next, he'll be serious and focused. You can never tell with him. He's like a bag of mystery candy. You don't know if it's good until you've eaten it."

It wasn't the best metaphor, and Taki was surprised at the lengths to which he'd gone to describe it. He had never been one to talk much, thinking words were better in songs then in conversation. He still believed it, but things had changed.

Lots of things had changed.

Haido was still looking at Kenji when Keiko started counting, and he glanced at her as they started. He wasn't used to starting in the middle of a song, but he did it anyway, focusing on the keys, then on Kenji again.

Tohma listened carefully, eyes hard. As soon as he heard the slip out of synch, he hit the button again.

"Do it again," he ordered.

He wasn't getting more agitated as it continued happening, though it may have seemed that way. He was just doing business. The music was going to be tweaked until perfection, and he had told them they would be worked until he was satisfied.

He just wasn't easy to please.
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Author’s Notes: Originally, I was going to have Keiko holding a deep crush for her longtime best friend, Kenji. You may still be able to pick some of those things out. But the story, at the time, was messy enough without more conflict within the now main focus band. It just didn’t work out, so, slowly as Keiko developed further, it just became a part of her detached states.

She’s strange and simple in a way that makes her complex. Like a math problem that’s so easy, you make it more difficult than it really is. But you’ll find out more about that a little later on. This is her early stage. The same for Haido.

I think I’ll give more little tidbits on characters every once in awhile. It’s actually really entertaining. I’ll make sure Kel can give me her insight every now and then too.

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~Subby