Prompt: 026 ~ Bandmates                                                                                                                                                              June 2011©
Fandom: the GazettE
Focus: Ruki (Reita x Kitty)
Word Count: 1,592

            It was just like any other practice, it didn’t end when it was over.

            The GazettE was a band of perfectionists and though a few of the members pretended to love the 'lazy' ways of the high profile rockstar lifestyle, practice always went far longer than it was scheduled to go. And even when it was over, casual chats among members nearly always turned back to the subject of perfecting their music and performances.

           This practice had gone especially long. It was raining out, thoroughly pouring down in a steady and dismal wash. None of the members particularly wanted to leave the warmth and dry security of the studio, so they’d just carried on with rehearsal. They had a tour coming up, so it wasn’t terribly out of the ordinary for them to want to add an extra few hours to their practice session. They had an almost legitimate reason to push the practice into exorbitance.

            However, even Kitty, the female attachment to the band that had only had a comparatively short time with the GazettE’s material, could play every single song backwards and forwards in her sleep. And that had been before they’d started today’s practice. By now, everyone was practically sick of the tour’s set list. If they never practiced again, Kitty was sure that they could walk on stage cold and perform perfectly from muscle memory alone.

            When the end was finally called, Kitty skipped straight to the break room with Ruki on her heels. As the others messed with their instruments, Kitty and Ruki peered out at the soaking cityscape of Tokyo. They’d made a bee-line for the coffee pot, needing hot liquid to soothe their throats after their practice had been pushed into the realms of the excessive. They desperately needed the relief.

            With Styrofoam cups nestled in their hands, the pair settled into to wait for their friends or wait out the rain, whichever came first. Their stares out the window were met with the sullen pounding of angry raindrops pouring down on the defenseless city.

            Ruki was scowling.

            Kitty was too, but hers was that of their usual impotent anger at the world in general. His was more acute, hinting at having a specific and smarting provocation. For noticing the difference, Kitty felt her expression soften.

            The others stumbled into the break room in a roar. Aoi was picking on Uruha for something and he was whining about it to Kai. The leader was trying to reinstate a semblance of peace and order as Reita complained loudly about the noise the other two were making. The group settled in together, wondering if they could really wait out the storm or if it wouldn’t just be better to make a quick dash for home.

            Aoi decided fairly quickly on making a brave and desperate dash. He’d driven to work that day, despite the always horrendous traffic, and with his car parked in the PSC garage, leaving now wouldn’t really turn out all that worse for wear for him. He grudgingly gave Uruha the offer of a ride as the diva-guitarist’s whining had transferred to worries about what Leslie was doing to his apartment and Kai had practically begged Aoi to get rid of him. If Uruha had stayed another half hour, the drummer worried that Reita would have ended up throttling his long-time best friend.

            Things settled down a bit after the guitarists left. Neither Kai nor Ruki had anywhere they had to be, and Reita’s only reason to go home was sitting right next to him. Kai texted Nana that they were going to wait for a pause in the rain to make the run for home. Reita occupied himself with his PSP, and Ruki and Kitty continued to stare out the window. The near silence wasn’t nearly uncomfortable, but it wasn’t quite as easy as usual.

            Kitty was the only one with an idea of why. After only a few steady minutes of close observation, Kitty was sure that something lingeringly wrong was pressing down on Ruki. She texted Maki about it, asking the actress who knew him best away from the band. She would know if anything was off with him, and hopefully she’d know what to do about it.

            The reply was painfully long in coming.

            I had hoped that practice would make it go away.

            Kitty sighed. She had noticed a certain lack of playfulness in Ruki during practice, but it hadn’t been anything specifically worrisome. That Maki had been trying to sort it out beforehand meant that they had very limited options in dealing with it now.

            What should we do?

            Another long moment passed before Kitty got her reply. It was the drastic measure she’d anticipated.

            Meisa says we can join her onset this afternoon, Aoi’s apparently bringing dinner. She’s staying with him tonight so we can hang out at her place for a movie night if you think that going without Reita for a whole night will be too much. ^_~

            Her chipperness was forced.

            Kitty responded in kind.

            I’ll bring cupcakes.

            As she hit send, there was a commotion at the door that caught everyone’s attention.

            It was Nana, coming in with a bright smile on face and extra umbrellas in her hand.

            “It’s really pouring out there!” Nana cooed, coming up from a kiss with Kai. He smiled softly at her, having known she’d be coming even though he’d given explicit instructions against it.

            Reita perked up for a moment at the sight of the umbrellas, but his scowl returned as Kitty scoffed, “I am not getting these shoes wet.”

            Normally, Ruki would have been just as adamant and Nana’s gesture would have gone entirely to waste. Today however, Ruki debated only a moment before he stood and took her up on her offer.

            As soon as he was gone, Kitty kicked Reita’s chair and stared at him expectantly.

            He growled incoherently at her, puzzled.

            “Aren’t you going after him?” Kitty prodded.

            “Why would I?”

            “Something’s bothering him?”

            “I noticed. He’s been a pissy little bitch all day. So?”

            “So,” Kitty said, kicking at Reita’s chair again. “You’re his friend. Shouldn't you, I don’t know, maybe, do something about it?”

            Reita snorted. “He has Maki for stuff like that,” he countered gruffly.

            Kitty softened a bit, turning back to stare out the window. “This is different. Maki can’t help him with it. There are just things that she’ll never be able to help him with.”

            “Still not my problem.”

            “Yes, it is! Ruki needs your help!” Kitty mewled.

            “He’s got Maki,” Reita insisted. It was just pig-headedness at this point, and he knew it.

            Kitty knew it too. “He needs his bandmate. It’s different and you know it.”

            “Make Kai do it.”

            “Kai’s too leaderly, or motherly, or something,” Kitty returned, eyeing the drummer as he tried to look affronted. “He needs you.”

            Reita huffed. He hated admitting that Kitty was right.

            But she was. Ruki had been acting strangely all day, even for the last few days if he was honest, and as much as he didn’t want to seem soft, Reita was worried. They were bandmates after all, closer than close with a bond that defied explanation and made each other’s woes impossible to ignore. Pocketing his PSP, Reita got heavily to his feet and snatched up one of Nana’s umbrellas.

            “I’m gonna kill him for this,” he muttered, striding out. He paused at the door, turning back to Kitty and commanding, “Eat something.” She’d just opened her mouth when he went on, “not just cupcakes, eat something that actually counts as food.”

            “Fine.” Kitty replied, pouting. “But bring me a box of those cookies Ruki has hidden away in his cabinets, they’re tasty.”

            An incoherent rumble of assent drifted back as Reita made his way out the door.

            Kitty looked to Nana after only a moment; her hopes confirmed when she spotted Nana’s distant expression, the gears of her mind whirring away furiously. “If that’s a bit of Reituki up in that crazy head of yours, I get to read it the moment it’s done,” Kitty announced.

            Nodding, Nana promised, “It’s going to be adorable.” Her voice was almost giddy with the plot bunnies bouncing around in her brain. Kai sighed, settling in fully as Nana pulled out a notebook. They were going to be here for a while.

            Kitty shrugged.

            Kai smiled. Reita was helping Ruki, Aoi was helping Uruha, and presuming none of them killed one another, the day had the potential to turn out pretty dang well. They were all bandmates, and helping each other like this was a given, even if it was a hard-won and grudging sort of care-giving.

            He wouldn’t forget Kitty in the assessment of bandmates that had earned helping, but she was just an attachment to the band. She herself, demanded that Kai’s actual members came first in all of their eyes. The rain would stop eventually, and after Kai got Nana home to her precious laptop, he would check in on Kitty. By then he’d be able to make sure Aoi and Uruha were both alive and well, and Kitty would have drained the last of her coffee away. She’d be curled up with Maki in Meisa’s apartment, a movie playing and some sort of dinner piled on the table.

            Kitty missed Reita terribly while she sent him off with Ruki, but not enough to call him before the morning came and the bassist made his own way home.

            She missed him dearly, but his bandmates came first.


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