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"Ugh come onnn I just-"
"Oh please Arisu," Karube interrupted. "It's the grand opening for fuck's sake. Be happy for your bro and be there."
"Fine..." Arisu rolled his eyes. "You could've at least given me some time to change into something better."
"About that..." Karube turned to Arisu, analyzing him from head to toe. "You know, that's not your worst outfit." Making Arisu sigh loudly.
As Karube mentioned, that night was the grand opening of his bar. After all these years of hard work (which included getting fired multiple times, struggling with saving money, having to work overtime countless times, and Chota's help), he eventually managed to build his very own bar, "Hizashi". For a change, Karube was dressed nicely. Not exactly a suit, but a bottom-down shirt and a bow. Arisu, on the other hand, had a regular t-shirt with "game over" written on it in a pixel font, jeans, and a star necklace with a green triangle on it—which was a gift from Chota.
Hizashi wasn't very far from where Arisu lived. A ten-minute walk if you're fast enough, or about 15 minutes of average speed.
By the moment Arisu stepped in, he was stunned by the scenery. A dim light reflected on various bottles of alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages which filled two entire shelves, the sweet and bitter small of vodka and coffee, black marble tiles with white veins covering the ground which matched the material the counter was made of, and a familiar face sitting on the counter.
"Hey, Arisu!" It was Chota, Arisu's friend and Karube's husband. "So glad you could make it." He laughed softly.
"Ayy, of course. Couldn't really miss the grand opening." Yelled Arisu, emphasizing the word 'grand' as he looked around.
"And probably, I was the one who nagged all the way to here." Karube sighed, crossing his arms.
Arisu stopped looking around and looked back at Karube. "Look, dragging someone out of their house isn't the most polite thing one can do." And shrugged afterwards.
Hizashi wasn't the biggest nor the most luxurious bar around. Yet it did feel like home, and it was pretty enough to spend your nights. Also, they served the best drinks around, thanks to Karube and his crew. A pretty solid place; not only for one's first bar, but in general. It felt like memories, like the past and yet the future, it felt like home.
At least to Arisu.
"Hey, Arisu!" There goes another familiar voice. A lower-pitched voice. It wasn't hard to identify who this voice belonged to.
"Kuina!" Arisu shouted before turning back. As he did, he identified another figure next to Kuina. She wasn't any stranger either; Kuina's girlfriend, Ann.
"Been a while since we last met, eh?" Arisu stated. "I've been wondering-"
His sentence was interrupted by a really loud, squeaky voice.
"Sheesh. Must be troublesome to check the amp sounds and everything." Karube thought loudly.
"Is there gonna be a... performance or what?" Arisu asked, genuinely confused.
"Of course," Karube laughed. "Don't have this whole stage and everything for nothing."
At that very moment, the door opened and a guy with a cap entered the bar. Arisu went to Tatta to greet him.
Soon after, Arisu was busy chatting with Karube and Chota— where Chota was still sitting on the counter while Arisu and Karube were sitting on metallic stools in front of him, a drink in Karube's hand and Chishiya making drinks for the rest.
Usagi, who arrived just a little while ago, sat in front of Ann and Kuina at their table, talking and laughing loudly. Kuina and Usagi had a light red-almost pink drink with a sweet strawberry scent in martini glasses, while Ann had a darker red, cherry-scented drink with ice in a hurricane glasse.
Not too long had passed until five other people entered the bar with some instruments. Karube stood up to greet them and help them move their instruments around. Soon after, Chota followed Karube to help, leaving Arisu alone.
By the moment his friends were gone, a not-very-familiar voice called Arisu from behind.
"Hey, pretty..." the figure got closer. "Here... often?" He couldn't seem to get his words straight, probably because of too much alcohol consumption.
Arisu raised an eyebrow and moved his class on the counter, ready for a fight or fly situation.
"Oh now don't... don't you escape from me." The guy put his hands on the two sides of Arisu on the counter, making him unable to escape as he got closer. Arisu could easily smell the heavy scent of alcohol in his breath, the blue and purple lights were reflected from his piercings.
That man didn't seem to stop; Arisu's eyes widened, thinking about whether he should hit the guy's nose with his forehead, or smash the glass in his head, or-
His thoughts were interrupted by a punch straight across the man's face, causing him to fall down and let go of Arisu.
"Niragi, we talked about this." It was Chishiya, he said with a blunt tone and straight face. "You're drinking more than you should... again." He sighed, offering his hand to help Niragi stand up. "No. More. Alcohol. Abuse."
Chishiya was quite serious about what he was talking about, and Niragi was drunk and pretty sensitive. Looking down with sad eyes, there was no way that you could make that blond sociopath feel bad, unless you're his boyfriend.
A faint "hit him again" could be heard from the background, which was said by Ann. Chishiya's expressions softened and he chuckled. Looking at Niragi's pathetic look, Chishiya let out a tiny little laughter and shook his head, putting his left hand on Niragi's face gently.
"I'm not mad at you, Niragi." He murmured. "If I wanted to hold grudges over these... then not only a break-up, but you'd get at least three attempts murders from me."
Chishiya put his right hand on Niragi's shoulder to balance his weight and a little support as he kissed him on the cheek.
"But seriously..." Chishiya started walking back behind the counter, next to the bottles. "No more alcohol tonight." To which Niragi responded with a small nod.
With the help of Karube and Chota, it didn't take a long time to move all the instruments and plug them in. In a few minutes, they went back to Arisu, but this time Chota also sat beside them on the metallic stools, their eyes locked on the stage. Ann and Kuina also sat beside Usagi to see the stage clearly.
The drummer hit his drumsticks together to sign others when to start.
"Three... four... one two three four." He counted quietly, just for the other band members to hear.
The first song was "Kagerou" by Buck-Tick, which went flawless. Though, there was a special someone who caught Arisu's eye.
"Psst, Karube..." Arisu leaned closer and whispered in Karube's ear. "Care to introduce?"
"Oh, their band is called Sology. So, the drummer is-" Karube tried to explain, but Arisu interrupted.
"No, no. Who is the singer?"
"Kyuma. Ginji Kyuma." Karube said as he turned from looking at Kyuma to Arisu. "Why do you ask?"
"Nothing just..." Arisu hummed. "Just curious."
Karube was still slightly confused, but let go of that.
Kagerou soon came to an end. People, which included their friends and regular costumers, all cheered for them, and Kyuma bowed slightly towards the crowd.
For the next song, Shitara gave his guitar to Kyuma and picked up a flute instead. The next song was "Meikyu" by TEKE::TEKE.
As they were performing, more people gathered in Hizashi. The song went wonderfully smooth, especially Shitara with his flute, as it's pretty unusual to hear a band use a flute for a rock song. Kyuma had both of his hands on the microphone in the first half of the song, but a little after Shitara's flute solo, he started playing the guitar, too.
The next song was another Buck-tick one, "Rain". That, too, was an amazing performance, which didn't fail to attract or keep costumers—and gain Arisu's attention even more. Karube also gave them a nod of approval for their outstanding performance and result.
"So uh..." Kyuma started talking after the end of the song. "Thank you for listening to us so far. We all appreciate it so much." He bowed towards the crowd, and continued. "This wasn't really part of the plan but... a little bird came to me and said Karube and Chota's anniversary is in a few days." He took a quick look at Kuina. "And today is also a very important day, the grand opening." Also emphasizing on the word 'grand'. "So we said we might, you know, prepare a little surprise for you. If you're here with your partner tonight... you're in luck." He smirked, taking off the guitar and guitar strap and handing it to Shitara.
Kyuma turned back to his bandmates. "You all ready?" He asked, to which everyone responded with a hum or nod. Kyuma took a deep breath and again, put both of his hands on the mic, pulling it a little closer until it could almost touch his lips. Karube and Chota were a little confused, but waited patiently to see what Sology was going to do, holding each other's hands.
"Gross." Nagged Arisu, looking at his friends.
"Says your virgin ass." Answered Chota playfully, which made Arisu shut up.
Apparently, their surprise song was "Lovesong" by The Cure.
The atmosphere was pretty romantic as the song played. Most people had a special someone to spend that three minutes and (almost) thirty seconds.
"However far away..."
Chota and Karube looked at each other, tightening their hands locked into the other's. Truly grateful for having each other.
"I will always love you..."
Kuina tilted her head to put it on Ann's shoulder, which caused her to give a faint smile and lay her head on top of Ann's.
"However long I stay..."
Niragi, with a glass of cold water in his hand, sitting close to the place Chishiya was working at, leaned back on the counter for Chishiya, who had a catty smirk on his face, to lean forward and lovingly stroke Niragi's hair.
"I will always love you..."
As always, Kyuma took glimpse and glances towards the crowd he was performing for. This time, his sight could spot someone quite... special. He could never stare at someone this long while performing. It had never happened before. But this time... this one guy, with messy hair, a heart-warming smile he wasn't aware that he had, beautiful eyes with a perfect harmony with his facial features... it was all about him. Who was he? And why did he seem so special?
"Whatever words I say..."
Arisu, on the other hand, was feeling weird. If you asked him to describe how he is feeling, he would probably go silent, or maybe simply reply with having a stomachache. It wasn't anything like eating too many energy drinks and ramen in one go, or like being punched in the stomach by Aguni. It was a feeling between anxiety and feeling as if he could fly. He had never tried drugs before; is that what being high feels like? Or maybe that's what they call falling in-
"I will always love you..."
"I will always love you..."
The song ended with an epic drumroll and an extra power chord, which interrupted Arisu's train of thoughts. Kyuma was still looking at him, smiling faintly as he winked at Arisu. Everyone cheered loudly but Kyuma couldn't really hear them. His entire focus and attention was on Arisu, examining his every move. As for Arisu, he couldn't think of anyone else other than Kyuma. All these band members and his friends surrounded him, the crowd shouting loudly; but Arisu could see none other than Kyuma.
It was new for both of them. It wasn't Kyuma's first performance, and he wasn't unpopular either. Having a show every week, or at least every other week. Seeing many, many faces—familiar or unfamiliar. Getting a chance to see multiple people cheering on him, yet he never felt the way he was feeling towards this one... specific guy.
Arisu was a tough man. Never fell in love before, and held a pretty strong shield against it. He always assumed it's going to take him a long while to like someone—if that ever happens, or he won't meet the right person easily,... thoughts like that. For the person he was, he could never ever imagine he'd catch himself falling for another guy at the very first sight. Oh Ginji Kyuma, who are you, and why are you so special and different?
In a few songs, the performance came to an end. Everyone clapping or shouting loudly, calling out a member's name, mostly Kyuma's. They politely bowed individually as they went down the stage. Goken and Uta talking to each other, Shitara and Maki high-fiving as Shitara noticed something was off with Kyuma. Shitara went to him, putting his hand on Kyuma's shoulder.
"You good, man?" He asked, following Kyuma's gaze.
"Eh? Of course." Kyuma was staring at Arisu. Wondering if he should talk to him or not.
"Then why are you..." He gave a smirk of realization. "You might not see him again. Just talk to him, maybe you have a chance."
"You're right." Kyuma nodded, not breaking his contact with Arisu. "I might have a chance."
Shitara tightened his grip on Kyuma's shoulder before letting him go. Whispering a "good luck" while grinning.
Kyuma gave a one-sided smile and nodded, as he prepared himself to talk to that mysterious guy.
Kyuma walked slowly towards Arisu, taking deep breathes every once in a while. He knew he had to talk with Karube and Chota, who wanted to express their gratitude.
It took them all a good long while until Chota and Karube finally let go of Kyuma, which meant he could have his alone time with Arisu.
"So... I'm Kyuma. Lead singer of Sology, and I think you're pretty handsome." Kyuma stated, looking down at Arisu as he was standing, but Arisu was sitting down.
"Arisu." He couldn't keep his answers long. What was he feeling? What was stopping him from acting rather... normal?
"Beautiful name for a beautiful guy like you." Kyuma replied as he sat next to Arisu, taking out a pack of cigarettes, putting one in his mouth and lighting it up. Non-verbally asking Arisu if he wanted one to which he passed but shaking his head.
"Singers shouldn't smoke, really. But eh, we're not your average pop singer." He smirked, looking at Arisu in the corner of his eyes. "I'm not unfamiliar with crowds. I've met many, many people—far more than I can even remember." Arisu shifted in his place, waiting for Kyuma to continue.
"And none of them ever caught my eye like how you did today." Straight to the point, huh? "And I was wondering... whether it's a feeling I got, or could it perhaps be... two-sided?"
Arisu looked at Kyuma, hesitated, and looked down.
"I guess I, too, feel something I never felt before." He whispered, loud enough for Kyuma to hear.
"That's what I thought." Kyuma said happily as he smirked. "So uh... Arisu." He moved in his seat, completely looking at Arisu. "Would you allow me to take you on a date?"
Arisu, still looking down, grinned softly and nodded. At the same time, Kyuma handed him a piece of paper.
"My number. I mean, I'd like to keep in touch and everything."
"I think many people would want to have Sology's lead singer's number." Arisu teased.
Kyuma laughed and shook his head. "You think we're that famous?"
"I just assumed." Arisu shrugged as his grin turned into a smirk. A smirk that Kyuma loved to see. It made him happy and, likewise, Kyuma made Arisu feel love, feel loved.
"So, Arisu," he put his elbow on the counter and his hand under his chin, looking at Arisu lovingly. "Tell me more about yourself..."