Heaven Cannot Wait

by Matrim

Part 5: Kendo

Monday, March 27 6:15 am

"You slept alone last night?" Manami asked as she threw open the door to
his bedroom and jumped onto Shinya's bed. The drummer opened his eyes
slowly, rolled them over to where Manami was, then yawned. "Hey, you've got
a comfy bed." She snuggled into the blankets on the other side of Shinya
and closed her eyes.
Shinya hit her with a pillow. "Don't you dare fall asleep here!"
"Why not? Die's not here." Shinya gave up. "I've got your message--"
She began then stopped.
Shinya opened his eyes. "If you've got my message," he said slowly,
"What was that at the door?"
Manami looked perplexed. "I don't know," she said helplessly.
"What's the one you have say?"
"'Shinya must follow all the rules until March 31, Friday or he dies at 9
a.m."
"Get the other one," he instructed. She jumped off his bed as quickly as
she came and returned. "Whassat say?"
"'Shinya must kiss a man, other than Die of Dir en Grey by Friday, March
31 or he will die at 9 a.m.'"
"Nani?" Shinya sat up. "What do you mean kiss another man?! Is this
some kind of joke?"
Manami shook her head and pulled out the slightly burned message from
Friday. "Remember this? 'Since Manami cheated, another task is added.'"
"You mean this is my other task? You mean I have to do two things in one
week? It's hard enough doing one, what makes anyone think I can do two!?"
Shinya whined, "And I don't want to kiss anyone other than Die. There's no
one else who can kiss like he can! They can't know how I liked to be
kissed, how soft his lips are, how--"
"That's a little too much information than I need to know," interrupted
Manami, "And you're only saying that because you've got a lover's bias--how
do you know if someone else can kiss better?"
Shinya glared at her, "Even if they do kiss better, they can't make me
feel the same way that Die makes me feel." He closed his eyes, imagined Die
and sighed. He fell back into his pillows and placed an arm over his eyes.
"You don't have to fake a swoon to make me get the point," Manami
replied. She got onto his bed and shook him, "Now, get serious! How are
you going to pull this off?"
"It's too early in the morning--go away." Manami gave up.

*******

"Alright! Everyone's on time!" Kaoru cheered. The rest of Dir en Grey
ignored him. "I've got something to show you. Follow me." They followed
him into the rest area and Kaoru turned the TV on. He changed to channel 3
and they all settled in.
"Ohaiyo gozaimasu! Welcome to our show! Today we have two very important
people with us! A prolific producer and member of X Japan, Yoshiki!" The
host said with a bright smile.
"What's he doing on tv?" Toshiya asked.
No one answered.
"And Sebastian, who is involved with Lareine. Today they are here to
convince Yoshimoto-san which band should be heading his concert tour."
"What band is Yoshiki promoting?" Kyo asked.
"I am here for Dir en Grey--"
"NANI?!!" screamed four members of the band. Kaoru only nodded and
smirked. "You--you knew about this all the time?" Toshiya asked weakly.
"You should've told us!!" Kyo raged.
"Why'd you wait until now?" Die asked.
"Why us? Why not someone else?" Shinya moaned.
"This explains why we've been practicing for a long time." Toshiya said.
He grabbed a stray magazine and threw it at Kaoru, "How could you--? I
thought we were a band!! Leader or not, you don't have the right to do
something sneaky like this!!"
Kyo shrugged and squirmed into a better position on the couch, "I don't
think we'll get it anyway. Let Lareine have it." He yawned, "Goodnight."
He fell asleep.
"This means a lot for us!! He's doing us a favor!" Kaoru said, in a
convincing tone.
No one believed him. "He's done enough for us already." Die said,
"What's so special about us? Let him go pick on another band! Don't get me
wrong, I'm grateful and all--it's just--he should stop."
"Maybe we're too cute for him to leave us alone," Toshiya offered.
"I'm not cute," Kyo murmured.
"Ssh! Let's at least hear what's going on!" Shinya said.
They fell silent and watched. "What can your band offer to bring to this
tour, Yoshiki-san?" asked Yoshimoto.
"Blood, violence, scorpions--"
"Kyo--quiet!" Shinya hushed.
"They're a great visual rock band with--with--a powerful singer
who-who--"
Kyo opened his eyes and leaned forward, "Who--who--?
"He's going down." Die observed.
"Hard," Toshiya added.
"We're starting to look bad." Shinya said and when his band members gave
him proud looks explained, "I mean, the bad kind of bad."
"Oh."
Sebastian took over and spoke about Lareine and the members of Dir en
Grey felt themselves feel worse and worse about themselves. "Oi, Shin-chan,
maybe you should call in." Toshiya said.
"Dooshite?"
"Because if it weren't for us--for you--Emiru would be dead and there
wouldn't be much of a Lareine, now would there?"
"Hey, yeah. . ." Die said.
"All this concert talk bores me," Yoshimoto said. "Is there anything
these bands like to do other than music? I like Kendo."
"Dir en Grey knows Kendo," Yoshiki offered.
"Hey. That's only Die. The rest of us know nothing." Toshiya snapped.
"I'm gonna kill him," Kyo said.
"Kyo! That's Yoshiki! How could you say that about a man who helped us
a lot?" Shinya asked.
"As I said as easily as before, I'm gonna kill him!"
"So, do Lareine." Sebastian said.
"Well, since I like both of your bands very much, why don't we have a
Kendo Shiai (match) this Friday?"
"NANI?!!" All of Dir en Grey shouted out. "I'm gonna kill him!" Die
shouted out and grabbed his phone and dialed Yoshiki's number. On the TV,
Yoshiki pulled out his phone.
"Moshi moshi?"
"Are you nuts?! We don't know kendo! I'm the only who knows kendo!!!"
Die yelled into the phone.
"Yoshiki-san, who's on the phone?" the host asked.
Die fumed. Yoshiki gave a nervous smile, "It's Die from Dir en Grey!"
"Listen to me, Yoshiki-san! We can't do this!"
"Nonsense, just--" Yoshiki dropped out of sight from the cameras as he
ducked behind the table. "Just teach them."
"I can't teach them Kendo in a week!!" Die ranted. "Are you out of your
mind?! Who cares about this stupid tour anyway?! Let Lareine have it!"
On the TV, Sebastian's phone rang. He had a brief conversation then hung
it up. "Yoshimoto-san, is it okay if we have a brief change of plans?"
Yoshiki appeared again. This time without the phone. "I don't believe
it! He hung up on me!" Die threw the phone down.
"What is it?"
"How about a Judo match instead?"
"Iie." Dir en Grey sighed with relief. At least with Kendo one of them
knew what was going on. No one knew a thing about Judo.
The host reappeared again, "And that's that. It will be decided on May
31 who will be on tour! Bye!"
"It's going to be a happy birthday for me," Toshiya said, bitterly.

*******

Tuesday, March 28, (earlier than Kyo's used to being up at)

"Why must dojos always have to be in the middle of some forest that's on
top of a mountain?" Kyo asked, wearily, with a bunch of equipment on his
back. "And why does Yoshiki seem to have everything?"
Shinya read a book about rules of hiking. He had managed to obey
everything so far. Manami would be proud.
"Hold on, guys, I have to piss." Kyo went to the side near a tree and
Shinya's eyes widened. He ran over and stopped Kyo before he could unzip
his pants. "Chotto!! Nani o suru?"
"You're not supposed to do that here! Wait for a real bathroom!"
"If I wait anymore, I might explode! What's the matter with you? Are
you a tree hugger or something?" Kyo yelled back but stopped anyway. He
kept on walking, "Fine. I'll wait." Toshiya and Die laughed and they all
walked on.
They passed by a few other hikers and Shinya greeted them and say
goodbye like it said in the book with a polite bow. No one seemed to notice
his strange behaviour until they crossed the bridge. Kyo had just finished
drinking and threw the can over his shoulder. "Eek!" Shinya said and ran
back, pushing past Kyo, who stumbled and fell into Toshiya. He caught the
can just as he managed to yell out, "Kyo, don't litter!!"
"I stand corrected. You're an anal tree hugger. What have you been
doing--taking lessons from Kaoru?"
"I was never that bad!" Kaoru said.

*******

"It's kind of creepy. It could be haunted." Toshiya observed. They
stood outside of the building, "It's probably dark, dusty and it probably
has spiders and--and--" He shivered.
Kaoru opened the door with the key and stepped in. They stood in the
cramped hallway. It didn't look as dusty as Toshiya predicted, it wasn't
very dark, but it was silent and that creeped them out a little. In fact,
it looked like someone had been there. Or was still there. There was a
creak and groan of the wooden floor and they all froze. A shadow moved and
they stared it. It came closer and closer until--
"Hello!!" Manami greeted, cheerfully, with a broom in her hand. She
wore a baby blue apron and a pink kerchief on her head, which was really out
of place with her dark red shirt and black vinyl pants and blue sunglasses.
Kaoru jumped. Toshiya squeaked. Kyo gaped. Die gasped and clutched
theatrically at his heart and Shinya--
Well, Shinya wasn't paying attention. He was reading a different rule
book this time--one on Kendo.
"Ma-Manami!" Kaoru managed.
"What are you doing here?" Toshiya asked, all fear replaced with relief.
"Loolomg after Shinya and making sure he follows the rules--what else?"
She replied, "Cleaning up as well. I know how much you hate spiders," she
grinned at Toshiya and winked. Kyo glared at Toshiya jealously.
"Arigato," Kaoru told her and pushed past her into the practice room.
"Arigato, Manami! You look so kawaii in that outfit!" Toshiya said,
touching the kerchief on her head. He followed after Kaoru.
Die smiled, "You look so motherly in that. Oh, wait, I shouldn't say
that. That would be insulting mothers everywhere."
"Oh, stuff it!" Manami hit him with the back of the broom and he ran in
with a laugh.
Shinya marked his place in the book with a ribbon and leaned over to
speak to her quietly, "I was wondering when you'd make an appearance."
"Did you figure out how to do your other assignment?"
"Can't we just skip that one?"
"No." Shinya sighed and followed after Die. Manami met Kyo's eyes and
looked away. He stared at her for a few seconds then took her left hand and
kissed the back of it.
He pressed something into it and said, rather hurriedly, "Shinya found
this and gave it to me, but I really think you should have it. It's yours
anyway. I'm sorry." He ran into the next room. Manami stood frozen for a
second then looked down and opened her left hand. It was the scorpion ring.

*******

"The concept of Kendo is to discipline the human character through the
application of the principles of the Katana." Shinya sat against the wall,
ignoring his friends and murmured as he read, "The purpose of Kendo is to
mold the mind and body, to cultivate a vigorous spirit, and through correct
and rigid training, to strive for improvement in the art of Kendo; To hold
in esteem human courtesy and honor, to associate with others with sincerity,
and to forever pursue the cultivation of oneself. Thus will one be able to
love his country and society, to contribute to the development of culture,
and to promote peace and prosperity among all peoples."
"Yeah, that's about true," said a voice next to his ear. Shinya jumped
and found Die kneeling next to him with a smile on his lips. "What are you
doing, Shinya?" He asked fondly.
"Research?" He volunteered.
"Always the sensible one, aren't you? But Kendo can't be learned with
just a book," Die said and took it away from him. He closed it and placed
it on the ground. "C'mon." Shinya picked it back up when Die turned and
stood to follow him.
Toshiya and Kyo were taping the square for a practice match area. "This
looks about right, right?" Kyo shrugged and was about to put it down until
Shinya tackled him, "Ack! Stop it!"
"You're doing it wrong! The square's supposed to be 9-11 meters long!"
He snatched the tape away from Kyo and with Toshiya's help laid it down.
Kyo fumed, "Die!! Do something about your anal tree hugging boyfriend!!"
Shinya glared at him and Toshiya and Kaoru began laughing. Die came
forward and took the book away from him again.
"What did I tell you? Shin-chan, you don't need it."
Shinya scrambled to reach forward, "D-Demo--" Die held it out of his
reach, "I--I--okay." He gave a resigned sigh. Die patted him on the head.
Toshiya looked up at him from where he was sitting, "Oi, Shinya--does
that book have anything to do with your task?"
Shinya looked down at him and nodded. Die nodded with understanding.
"Oh, so it's to obey all the rules?" He nodded again.
"I don't think you'll break any rules," Toshiya offered, "We've got Die
here, he remembers stuff. I don't think it's that easy to forget something
like Kendo."

********

"Don't tell me we have to sleep here." Kyo said. The others stared at
him.
"Not unless you want to walk back home and walk back here again in the
morning," Kaoru replied, "And I can tell you, you didn't enjoy it the first
time so what makes you think you can handle it the second time? We're
staying here."
Kyo whined, "But you four are going to...be together," he finished
lamely.
Toshiya gave Kyo a mischievous grin, "No worries, Kyo. Manami's here,
remember? You won't be alone--you've still got your human teddy bear."
They all started laughing as Kyo fumed. There was a knock on the door as
Manami opened it with a bunch of futons and pillows. "Isn't this neat? I
found them in the closet. And don't worry, Toshiya, I checked them for
spiders and what-not." She dumped it in the middle of the room, "Enjoy!"
She said and turned to leave. Kyo watched her with an expression of veiled
longing, just in case his band members saw. (Which they did.)
Die dragged two futons away from the pile and set them up in the corner.
Toshiya jumped on the pile and claimed one as his own and then stared at
Kyo. "Maybe you should ask her where she intends to sleep."
"Then what? She won't want me." Kyo replied, blankly and raised his
hand to his face as if remembering the backhand she had given him.
"Manami's not like that, Kyo," Shinya said, softly and closed the Kendo
book and hid it before Die could see. Kyo looked at him interestedly,
"She's an angel." Toshiya and Die didn't know whether to drag the drummer
away and ask if he was sane for telling Kyo or pretend they hadn't heard.
Instead, they did nothing. Shinya gave Kyo a smile.
"But--"
Toshiya waved a hand in the air as Kaoru dragged the futon he was on off
to another corner of the room, "Oh, just do us all a favor and seduce the
girl already, will you?" He said carelessly. Kyo's jaw dropped, Die stared
at Toshiya as if he had murdered Kaoru and Shinya paled.
"I don't think--" Kyo began.
"You should being doing that sort of thing--" Die said, tonelessly.
"With my guardian angel!" Shinya finished with a squeak.
Kaoru and Kyo stared at him, "I know you guys are close and all," Kyo
began, "But--really, your guardian angel?"
Shinya refused to meet their gaze and didn't answer. "Just--if you do
find her--don't do anything to her, okay?" I don't want the wrath of God
coming down on me. Shinya added silently.
"I'm not going to do anything." Kyo told him and grabbed the last futon.
He settled into it as Kaoru turned off the light. Shinya settled into his
own futon as Die's arms wrapped around him. A few minutes later, Kyo
gathered his things in a bundle as quietly as possible and left through the
door.
"I hope he's alright." Die said, softly.
"I hope Manami doesn't kill him."

********

Manami stood out on the balcony with a cup of tea in her hands. "What
are you doing up so late?" She asked without turning around. Kyo jumped.
He thought he had shuffled in as quietly as he could. "You did," she
answered, too tired to not use her telepathy, "But I could still sense you."
"Ano--I wanted to--I don't want to be alone in there with all the
lovebirds." Kyo blurted out. Manami turned around with a smile and leaned
against the railing. He had wrapped a thick blanket around him and he
looked like a sweet devil child.
"It's not as if they'd do anything. Not unless Toshiya--nevermind."
Manami shook her head and her smile deepened. Kyo looked away a little
flustered, "Go back in there and get some sleep. By the way I saw Die
working you guys, I don't think you should be up this late."
Kyo didn't move.
"Aren't you cold? You are just standing in your pajamas and it's one of
those cold spring nights." Manami was running out of things to say. The
blanket slipped off of Kyo's shoulder. He gave Manami a look full of loss.
"Where are you sleeping?" he asked.
"In this cramped little room."
"So far away?"
"Hai."
"Why not with us? It'll be safer. What if someone comes in here?"
I'm an angel. I can deal with it. She thought but moved forward, close
enough to look in his eyes. She was just a *little* taller than he. "Are
you worried about me?" Kyo looked up and had a strange look in his eyes.
His lips curved into something akin to Toshiya's smile whenever he wanted to
cause a reaction. He grabbed Manami in an embrace. "EEK!!" She screamed
and he laughed low and sadistically in her ear. The exact laugh that had
freaked her out when she had heard one of their songs doing rehearsal. He
half carried/dragged her into the sleeping room. "You know you're going to
hell, right?" she asked him shakily.
"Ne, Manami," he whispered into her ear, "Keep me warm? Be my human
teddy bear again?"
"You're so confusing," she said shaking her head, "I really wish you were
drunk. You'd be easier to deal with."
He pushed her down and snuggled next to her, placing his head on his
shoulder, "Ssh! Goodnight, Manami!" And he fell asleep.
"Great," Manami murmured and thought she heard soft giggles around her.
"Shut up, all of you."


********

Wednesday, March 29

"Oh, they look so kawaii!!" Toshiya said. The other four members
surrounded their lead singer and the angel with interest. They didn't have
the heart to wake them up. Kyo curved protectively around Manammi with his
hand in her hair to hold her head against his shoulder. Her fingers every
now and again curled his hair.
"It's too bad Manami can't be with him forever." Die said,
sympathetically.
Kaoru rummaged in his bag and produced a camera. He moved into view and
took a picture. They all gasped. "What are you doing?" Toshiya asked.
"He'll be grateful. Don't worry about it." He took another picture and
then put the camera away. "Now, someone wake them up." He said and
replaced the camera into his bag. "We have to meet Yoshiki for breakfast."

*******

"Do you want to see how good they are?" Yoshiki asked as they rounded
the corner.
"I don't think spying is a good idea," Kaoru ventured but was silenced as
they moved around to peek into the dojo's window. They watched them move
flawlessly in their practice until Kaoru's voice again broke the silence,
"The people in there are good but I don't see anyone that looks like
Lareine."
The rest of Dir en Grey let out a sigh of relief. "Why are we doing
this? It's not as if this concert tour means that--oh, okay!" Die said,
quickly silencing himself at Yoshiki's stare. He still hadn't been forgiven
for yelling at the producer on the phone. On air.
"Well, look who's decided to show up," came a sweet voice. Dir en Grey
turned and saw Lareine. Kamijo smiled. "I hope you do well this Friday."
"You, too." Kaoru said. Toshiya peeked at the other lead singer from
behind Kaoru.
Kamijo's smile widened, "Why, now, who's this? Bonjour, honey. May I
have the pleasure of your name?" He took Toshiya's hand and gave it a soft
kiss. "I am Kamijo."
"I-I know. I'm Toshiya."
"Totchi," said the other man and Kaoru stepped in between the two and
Kamijo dropped Toshiya's hand. "Oh, I see how it is."
Shinya stepped forward, "Emiru-san?"
The bassist gasped and ran forward, "Oh, Shinya-san!!"
Kamijo held him back. "Who's this?" Mayu asked, quietly. His voice
sounded strange. He looked at Emiru fondly then at Shinya with suspicion.
"Shinya saved me."
"OH." There was something sharp about that one syllable. Mayu looked at
Die, standing behind Shinya. The drummer noticed Mayu's gaze and stepped
back, protectively in front of Die.
"No, Mayu. Die-kun is Shinya's koibito." Emiru said, upset.
"Hounto?"
"Alright, this is getting silly," Manami spoke up. She almost wished she
hadn't when Mayu and Kamijo's eyes rested on her.
"Now, this is better," Kamijo said. "Looks like her brother."
Die and Manami looked at each other then at the members of Lareine, "No
way I look like her/him!" They said at the same time. They were ignored as
Kamijo signalled for Machi to come.
"Aren't they cute?"
"They are."
"Do you prefer the male or the female?"
"I told you," Emiru snapped, "Die is Shinya's koibito!!"
Kyo stepped in front of Manami, "And Manami's mine."
"I'm not supposed to be," Manami said but everyone ignored her.
"Aren't you a little--" At the word, Kyo lost his temper.
"I am not little!!" He sprung forward and tried to reach for other lead
singer but Shinya, Manami, Die and Yoshiki held him back.
"Don't worry about it. Let's say we have a wager. You guys lose, we get
the tour, Machi gets Manami, Mayu gets Die, I get Totchi and--Emiru, do you
prefer Shinya?"
"Ah, but aren't you forgetting? There's five of us and only four of
you."
"We have our own secret weapon."
"No one's getting anyone here!!" Kaoru yelled.
"What do you want if you win?"
"We get the tour and I get to rip your bloody--" Kyo began.
"We just want the tour and we want you to leave us alone." Kaoru
finished. Kamijo smiled.
"I shall you see you later then, honey." He reached out and stroke
Toshiya's cheek. Kaoru snarled and lunged for the lead singer and this time
Toshiya, Die, Shinya, and Yoshiki held him back.
"We'll see you then."

********

Thursday, March 30, 11:00 p.m.

"I don't know which one is the strongest so I just did this all on
reflecting on what happened today." Die said, slowly. "Okay, Senpo (first
player) will be Shinya. He's the strongest. He's the drummer. Jiho
(second player) is Kaoru because he's civilized. Chuken is Toshiya.
Fukusho is Kyo. And I'm Taisho because I'm the only one who really knows
what he's doing." Die scratched his head, "If anything goes wrong that's
what'll save us in the end." He took a deep breath, "Okay. Let's run this
through again. When we enter the hall, what do you do?"
Toshiya raised his hand, "We line up at our seats and bow to the main
stand?"
"Can I have a proper vocabulary?"
"We give rei to them?" Shinya volunteered.
"I thought I told you to get rid of that book?"
Shinya threw it over his shoulder and smiled at him. Die shook his head.
"Then what?"
"We sit and then we wait for our turns." Toshiya finished.
"And then we pray to God," Kyo said. Everyone moaned.
"Back to work. We'll pair off. I'll go with Shinya, Kaoru with Toshiya
and Kyo--uh--"
"He'll be with me," Manami called out. She stood in uniform and Die
nodded.
"I didn't know you knew Kendo." Shinya hissed.
"Never know until you need it."

*******

12:00 am

Shinya faced Die, forgetting that this was the man he was so nice to most
of the time. Only one more point to win. He struck Die on the forehead and
then on the hand. "Kote!" Die called out and Shinya froze like he was
supposed to. Die took off his headgear and smiled at Shinya. "That was
great. You could win with that. You just did a Yoku Datotsu, do you know
what that is?" Shinya shook his head. "That means you accurately hit the
valid points on the body with the perfect posture, spirit and alertness."
(Note: I'd put in the original words but there'd be a lot of parentheses
around the place--Matrim) He smiled at Shinya proudly. "I'm glad you're
focused enough not to think about me when you're fighting. Unlike those
two," he said pointed at Kaoru and Toshiya, who kept managing not to hit
each other too hard. "But I'll fix that. Oi, Kaoru, pair off with me.
Give Toshiya a break."
Toshiya left his place eagerly and left out the door for a drink of
water. Shinya watched Manami and Kyo go at it for a second then decided to
have a drink of water himself. As he drank his water, he heard a scream.
He ran to the direction of it and found the door open. There was broken
glass on the threshold and the sound of struggling beyond it. He put down
his glass, put on some sandals and ran out the door. "Totchi?"
"Shinya!!" The bassist managed out as his unknown captors (who wore
masks) hustled him off. Shinya ran after them.

*******

Manami went into the kitchen a couple of minutes later and noticed that
there weren't much clean glasses around. She began to wash them, feeling
that something was wrong.

*******
Shinya finally met up with them. He wrenched Toshiya away from them.
The two stood back to back, defending each other and one of the vigilantes
stepped forward and grabbed Shinya by the wrist. Shinya kicked him in the
stomach and yanked at his hair to connect with his knee. Suddenly, someone
grabbed him from behind and threw him to the ground. "Shinya!" Toshiya
screamed.
"Toshiya! Run and get help!"
"I can't leave!"
"You have to or we'll both be killed!" A fist connected into his abdomen
knocking the air out of him. There was scuffling around him as Shinya tried
to trip someone. Someone punched him in the face and then again and again.
"Gomenasai, Shin-chan!!" came a faint scream as Shinya blacked out, the
last thing he saw being four funny looking yet terrifying masks.

******

Manami stood in the hall with a soapy plate. She faced the open doorway
just as she heard Toshiya's scream. "TASUKETE!! TASUKETE!!" In Manami's
mind, she felt pain, heard laughter, heard Shinya telling Toshiya to run.
Her eyes focused once more as the other members of Dir en Grey came out into
the hallway to see what was up.
"Manami?" Kyo shook her, but she was too far away to care.
The plate dropped from her hand just as Toshiya ran in. A gasp escaped
her lips and tears slid from her eyes. "Shinya's in trouble." she
whispered.
Toshiya stared at her with incredulous eyes. "Yes. He is. You guys
gotta come with me!!" They ran out the door, plate and all forgotten.
:Shinya,: Manami called with her mind, :Wait for me!! I'm coming! I'm
sorry!:

*******

"He's gone!" Die said, angrily. They searched the clearing where he and
Toshiya had last been together. "He's gone!!" He grabbed Manami. "Aren't
you his guardian angel?!"
"Yes--"
"Why aren't you guarding?" Manami's eyes narrowed and did another thing
that was against the rules for angels to do on earth. She picked him up
mentally and with a simple gesture of her hand, threw him across the
clearing as gently as she could.
"All of you, go back to practicing. I will find Shinya." She said with
a different glow in her eyes and left them.

*******

Somewhere along the roadway, someone dumped Shinya out near some
trashcans. He was unconscious with a cut under his eye, bruises on his face
and blood running from a gash on his forehead down his face. There was
another bloody gash along his right leg. Manami felt his presence and ran
as fast as she could toward it.

*******

Friday March 31
5:00 am

Someone shook him awake and dragged him into the front seat of the car,
murmuring something about taking him to a hospital. Shinya moaned and
relaxed for a moment then opened his eyes when he felt the truck moving too
fast. "No, don't! Follow the rules!! Don't drive too fast!"
"Forget the rules! Do you wanna die?" the old man asked, "I have to get
you to a hospital quick as I can!" Shinya wrenched the steering wheel away
from him when the man almost went through a red light. "Are you nuts?!"
"It's because I don't want to die that I'm obeying the rules!!" Shinya
said, frantically, "Just do it for me, onegai?"

********

"Chu'sho!" Manami swore when she got to where he had been. Someone had
moved him. And they were moving him pretty fast. :Hold on, Shinya, I'm
coming!:

********

"Manami?" Shinya asked. He swore he had heard her voice. Maybe he was
dying. It didn't make sense, he still three hours to go and--he had
followed all the rules but--he swore. He hadn't kissed another man other
than Die.
The man stopped at the hospital and dragged Shinya out of the truck and
into the emergency room.

********

The members of Dir en Grey walked in glumly. They presented themselves
in front of the main stand and then at the request of the Manager, took
their seats. Lareine sat across from them. The match hadn't started yet.
The television crew wasn't there yet. It was 8:00.

*******

"Now, all you need to do is lay back and relax for a while Shinya-san."
The nurse told him, with a smile on her lips. She felt sorry for him. He
was so pretty but hurt. "The stitches will hold as long as you don't
overexert yourself and your head will be fine so long as you don't do
anything foolish."
Shinya nodded and closed his eyes. The match was beginning just as he
began to drift away.

*******

"I'll take Shinya's place," Die said. Lareine had five players. How
they managed to convince Gackt to come was beyond him but he didn't bother
to question the system anymore.
He met Machi in the middle of the court nine steps apart, exchanged Rei,
moved three steps forward, squatted, drew the shinai (kendo sword thingey)
and got into the ready position. The match began. Die performed two Yuko
Datotsu in a row and won. Dir en Grey: 1, Lareine: 0.
Die came back and looked at Kaoru. "Your turn."
Kaoru was up against Kamijo and lost his temper twice. The referee
signalled a penalty against Kaoru by grabbing Kamijo by his clothing and
pushing him outside of the ring hard. Then he lost by insulting him when
Kamijo whispered something deprecrating in his ear. Score--Dir en Grey :1
Lareine: 1
It was 8:15

******

"Is this where we check out?" Shinya asked wearily.
"Yes, but why are you here?"
"Because I need to get out of here and this is the correct way to do it,
right?" He asked.
"Sir--get back into your room!"
"There you are!" Manami burst into the hallway and Shinya saw her.
"Manami!!" He cried out and staggered towards her. She held him as he
wept and then looked up at her. "We have to go! I have to participate in
the match or the others'll be disappointed!"
"You look like hell. Shinya, are you sure you want to do this?" She
asked. He nodded. She looked at the receptionist, grabbed a pen, signed
Shinya out and picked him up in a piggy back ride and ran out the hospital
and down the street towards the match.
"I don't believe you're carrying me," Shinya told her.
"Neither do I," she returned.

********

"It's my birthday." Toshiya said, "I'd better win.
He stood and took his place in front of Emiru. The two bassists bowed,
stepped forward and began. Emiru scored Datotsu (valid hit point) on him
by hitting him squarely on the head, Toshiya performed a Yuko Datotsu on
Emiru by defending another of Emiru's Datotsu. They both froze when the
referees announced this and went on. Just as Toshiya thought he won, Emiru
managed to strike him and Toshiya lost his grip on the Shinai. The score
was Dir en Grey: 1 Lareine: 2
Toshiya tried not cry.

*********

8:30

"I don't think we'll make it in time!" Shinya yelled.
"I don't care! At least this way, no one can say we didn't try!" She
snapped.

********

It was Kyo against Mayu. Let's just say they didn't exactly take too
well to one another. As soon as they began, Mayu said in a low voice so the
referee wouldn't hear. "It's not you that I want."
"And you think that you're a prize?" asked Kyo in the same kind of voice.
Mayu scored a Datotsu on Kyo by striking him sharply on the hand.
"I wanted your pretty little drummer. I wanted to see him writhe in
pain." Kyo ignored it and managed to perform a Datotsu on Mayu, hard on his
throat flap. I hope he gets a bruise that'll ruin his pretty little neck,
he growled to himself. "But we fixed that last night."
Kyo stared at him. They hurt Shinya? Why? He parried Mayu's blow and
stopped when the referee penalized Mayu for stepping out of bounds. "But
I'll enjoy defeating you and watching your cute face burst into tears."
Something broke in him, "I am not cute!!!" He yelled and performed a
rather painful Yuko Datotsu by striking him on the forearm. Even if his
band does win the tour, he thought, he'll have a hell of time playing now.
Mayu screamed.
The members of Dir en Grey winced. Toshiya instinctively rubbed his arm.
"Oh, my God."
"That might leave a mark," Die commented.
"I didn't think he was *that* serious about not being called cute," Kaoru
said. Kyo returned and sat next to his band members who instintively moved
over.
"What's wrong?"
"Nan demo arimasen! (Nothing)" Kaoru said, with a bright fake smile.
"Just don't get mad at us anytime soon, okay?" Die asked.
"You know you're going to hell, right?" Toshiya asked. Dir en Grey: 2
Lareine: 2

*********

8:45 am

Manami stared at the buildings, picked one that looked like it was the
one and ran into it.

*********

"Dir en Grey, you have a choice," the referee announced, "You could
either forfeit the match or use another player again." The band looked at
the door hopefull as if Shinya and Manami would appear but they didn't. It
took them five more minutes because Manami was running up the stairs.
"I'm here!" Shinya cried out wearily. Manami held him on her back and
circled around the camera then saw the band and ran to them. Die gasped and
Toshiya whimpered. Kaoru glared at Lareine. Kyo growled. "I'm here!
Don't forfeit the match!"
"You are not going out there!" Die said, immediately. "You look like
hell."
"I wish people'd stop telling me that. And we're following the rules! I
have to do this or I die!"
"You do this and you will die!"
Manami shrugged as she placed the drummer down, "Lose-lose situation."
Die glared at her, "Don't make me throw you again." She looked at Shinya,
"You've got nine minutes. Go for it."
Shinya grabbed a shinai and met Gackt in the court. It was a long match
for both were equally matched. They would've scored an appropriate Datotsu
if they hadn't been successively defending themselves. Gackt got him in the
torso and Shinya stumbled. Die felt his heart lurch and Manami bit her lip.
Shinya still had two points to go. He struck Gackt on the forehead then
on the hand but not nearly as hard as Kyo's. "Kote!" The referee called
out and he froze. It began again and Shinya felt himself grow faint. He
heard others call his name just as he struck out a Datotsu against Gackt's
Datotsu as a parry. "Go-No-Waza!!" Someone called out and Shinya was
supposed to bow because it was the end of the match but blackness claimed
him.

*******

Die saw him fall and ran to his side, pushing away everyone else. He
flicked off Shinya's head gear and felt for a breath by placing his cheek
near Shinya's nose. No breath. . fuck! he thought. He undid the Do (torso
part of the Kendo uniform) laces, to let Shinya breathe but still he felt
nothing.
Manami rushed over next to him. "I don't get it!" She looked at her
watch. "He's got thirty seconds more! Oh, crap! He's got thirty seconds to
perform the second task!!" She shook at Shinya's body, "Wake up, you lazy
ass! Open your eyes! This isn't funny!"
"What's wrong? Oh, no, Shinya can't breathe?" People whispered. The
members of Lareine peeked uncertainly at Shinya. Emiru separated himself
away from them. "Emiru?" Mayu asked, nervously. "What are you doing?"
He knelt beside Shinya, did the same thing that Die did by placing his
cheek against Shinya's face and then opened the drummer's mouth. "Because
he saved me once. . ." And placed his mouth over Shinya's and breathed into
it. Die and Manami stared at him in shock. Emiru hit Shinya's chest a few
times then breathed into his mouth again.
"Does that count as a kiss?" Manami asked Die.
"Don't be absurd!" Die sputtered.
Shinya coughed, opened his eyes and rolled over. Emiru smiled down at
him. Manami smiled with joy. "CUT! And not more than 4 seconds left!!"
"I'm alive! Arigato, Emiru-san!"
"You won, too." Emiru said.
"We've got the tour!" Kaoru cheered.
"Arigato, Shin-chan!" Toshiya yelled.
Die helped Shinya up and the drummer leaned on him. "You're in need of a
rest," Die said.
Kamijo and the others bowed in front of them, "Gomenasai. We were
wrong."
"You oughtta be," Kyo mumbled.
Manami smiled at Shinya, "If we can handle this, the other tasks must be
a breeze!"
Shinya gave a smile, a real one, "Of course."

End of part 5

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