Fic for gothicauthor (Part 1 of 2)
Title: Great Gig In The Sky
By: gingifere
Pairing: Akame
Rating: PG-13
Genre/Warnings: None.
Prompt (if used): None.
Notes: To gothicauthor I hope you have as much fun reading this as I did writing it, and hopefully it meets all of your requirements! One small explanation; busking is the practice of performing in public places for tips and gratuities i.e. performing at tube/train stations etc.
I have a whole host of people to thank for supporting me with this fic; everyone on my twitter and flist who listened to me whine. I’d especially like to thank N, R and S for beta reading this monster, and to C for listening to me flail and panic about this. You guys are my number one. Title taken from Pink Floyd’s Great Gig In The Sky, a truly fantastic piece of music.
Summary: Kame can take the stress (probably) of training to become one of the world's best pianists; dealing with his fellow students--and one in particular--is another matter.
Autumn 2006
Kame can remember his first day at Tōkyō Geijutsu Daigaku almost perfectly; his dad hadn’t been able to make it, a sudden mix-up with his schedule forcing him to fly three days early to London to play for the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, and so his mother had forced all four of them into the car at 7 am the day of his move-in into the dorms in Nerima, and forced his brothers to help him move in. Yūichirō had been amused at all the junk Kame had somehow managed to convince himself he’d needed to bring to university with him, whilst Kōji had bitched about the hot date in Disneyland he’d had to skip out on to help his baby brother. Yuya had simply spent the majority of the car ride telling Kame how lucky he was to move into his own place, even if he did have to share his shower.
They ended up driving around in circles for half an hour because the directions the university sent him were shit and the old lady behind the combini tucked next to a post office had no idea where Hatori College was, much less where he was supposed to collect his keys and register. Which was why by the time midday came round, his mother was about ready to throw all four of them out of the car and Kame was ready to simply jump out of the car and walk to the university reception if it would mean his brothers would stop whining.
By the time they arrived at his college they were cranky and hungry and Yūichirō and Kōji all but threw Kame and his suitcases out of the car into his dorm room whilst his mother tutted and fretted about how small his bedroom was.
“Seriously mum,” Kame sighed as she fluttered around the room throwing disdainful looks at the opened suitcase on Kame’s roommate’s bed, clothes thrown haphazardly on the floor.
“Look, at least I get my own sink ok?” he continued, gesturing to where two single sinks are tucked just inside the wall by the front door. One of them already had after shave, a tooth brush and tooth paste scattered all over it, and Kame figured he’d need to invest in a toothbrush holder simply to avoid getting toothpaste all over the sink.
“Hmm,” his mother said, frowning. “I told your father we should have gone for a private en-suite bedroom for you, but no your father tells me that sharing a room is all part of the learning experience. Well if your roommate murders you in the night, your father certainly won’t be saying that.”
Kame caught Yuya’s eyes and smiled as his little brother rolled his eyes as he followed Yūichirō and Kōji outside to the car bring in the rest of the suitcases. All four of them are used to his mother’s half hysterical rants and have as such learnt to just let he be when she works herself up into a state.
Swallowing a sigh, Kame glanced around his room, feeling the first frission of excitement and nerves curl in his stomach. This was the first time he’d been away from home on his own, and he was caught between joy at the idea of freedom and fear that he’ll end up rooming with someone awful, that he won’t be able to handle the work load and his first year of university will end in a fiery ball of disaster. He knew it was irrational, but a childhood spent with one of the most prolific trumpet players in the world as his father meant he had a deep-set fear of failing.
Almost as if his mother could hear his thoughts, she stopped mid-rant and pinned him with a soft smile.
“You know we’ll always be supporting you, don’t you?” she asked, moving forward to slip an arm around his. “No matter what your father says when he gets into one of his hysterical old man rants, we’ll always be proud of you.”
“Even if I dropped out of uni to become a busker for the rest of my life?” Kame asked, trying to hide his smile.
“Well, you might want to consider moving to England if you do decide to take up busking, and giving your father at least ten years to deal with the heart attack you’ll likely cause,” his mother said, eye sparkling with humour. “But yes. You will always have our support.”
Kame could feel his mouth curve into an awkward half smile, and he knew he was going to say something horrifically embarrassing that will cause his mother to well up and his brothers to punch his arm if they overhear it, but before he could, the door swung open and a boy with the largest hair he had ever seen stumbled through the door.
He was met with a bright blinding smile, and shockingly dark brown eyes before the guy dumped what looked like a tuba case onto the floor, and loped across the room, hand already out.
“Hey man, you must be Kamenashi-kun right? I’m Shirota Yuu, pleased to meet you.” He said in a low, slightly accented voice. Despite the fact that he was wearing a pair of jeans that were more hole than fabric, his smile was bright and genuine and Kame felt his lips quirk into his own genuine smile.
“Mm, call me Kame. Pleased to meet you Shirota-san.” Kame smiled, taking his hand gingerly before gesturing to his mother. “This is my mother, Kamenashi Keiko.”
Shirota’s smile grew even wider when he turned to face Kame’s mother, and he bowed politely and elegantly.
“Please call me Yuu. Shirota makes me sound like my brother, and believe me that is not a good thing.” Yuu said, shrugging off his coat.
Kame could practically feel his mother relaxing at Yuu’s polite, sincere-seeming smile, and breathed a sigh of relief that she won’t be ringing every night to ensure that he’d not been kidnapped in the night.
His mother opened her mouth, and Kame could already feel the embarrassing barrage of questions she’ll ask Yuu, questions about his parents, about what he plays and what he will be taking, all covered by a thin veneer of politeness when the door swung open again and Koji stumbled through with two suitcases.
“Jesus, Kame, I am never ever helping you move again. What did you bring, your entire bloody wardrobe?” he demanded, completely unaware that Kame’s mother had pinned him with a narrow dangerous glare.
“I beg your pardon, Kamenashi Koji, but I do hope I did not just hear you swear at your little brother,” she demanded softly and dangerously and Kame met Yuu’s raised eyebrow and little smile with an eye roll.
As Koji tried to defend himself and Yuu slid over to Kame to tell him about the welcome party tonight, Kame felt that maybe he’d settle in just fine.
~ ~ ~
Five hours later he’s regretting ever agreeing to hang out with Shirota Yuu’s friends. Yuu, it seems, is a snake in sheep’s clothing, a slimy little bastard who’s made friends with nearly every first year student in the school already.
When Yuu had suggested they go a grab a few drinks at the student bar, he’d blissfully agreed, the memory of his families exuberant goodbyes still fresh in his mind. He’d expected a decent sized bar, maybe to have a few pints before heading back to his room to finish his unpacking. Instead he’s sandwiched between Yuu and a short guy called Nishikido who’d sneered when he’d learned that Kame played the violin as well as the piano, muttering something about pond scum and violinists, and he’s currently watching in something akin to horror as a guy with shaved white blonde hair mixes beer with vodka, sambuca and sake before thrusting it in front of tall guy with long curled brown hair.
He’s somewhat unsurprised when the curly haired guy downs the drink and smirks slowly at the cheers, tongue running along his bottom lip. Kame is even more unsurprised when he suddenly turns to pin Kame with a smug smile, arching an eyebrow at Kame’s frown.
Kame’s scowl deepens as the guy (Akanishi he remembers, the bastard who stole the last Rachmaninov Piano Concerto score right out from under Kame’s nose, and who instead of looking apologetic, had simply shrugged and said casually “You lose some, you win some”. Kame had been tempted to show him just how ex-baseball players deal with losses, until his mother had started calling his name and he’d had to stick with grumpily stalking out of the shop), winks at him before sauntering over to where the rest of the percussion section are sitting, various selections of vodka and gin in front of them.
He jumps slightly when Yuu shoves a bottle of beer into his hand with a bright smile, before shoving an arm around his shoulders and forcing him to join into a drunken rendition of ‘Fat Bottom Girls’. It’s hard not to smile after that and even as Kame spends the next day on his knees in the bathroom, he figures that it’s a fitting start to university.
~ ~ ~
Winter 2006
Kame’s halfway through his first winter term when he meets Shibutani Subaru for the first time. He’s spent most of November trying not to hyperventilate at his work load and organising a working rota so that he doesn’t keep Yuu up with work and Yuu doesn’t keep him up with partying. He’s not quite sure how Yuu manages to balance being a full time cello student with going out four times a week and getting absolutely snookered.
Kame’s searching through the different leaflets pinned to the student notice board, wondering if he can get a job tutoring someone, because money’s been tight and Lord knows he’s not about to demand any more cash from his parents, when Kusano suddenly appears next to him, baritone sax case banging loudly against the side of the wall. He’s met with Kusano’s blinding smile as he pulls another shorter man after him, who stares at him rather blankly.
“Kame, man it’s good to see you!” Kusano says brightly, and Kame feels himself smile back. He hasn’t seen Kusano since his final year at high school and he’s looking good.
“Mm, you too. I heard you spent your summer in America. How was Julliard?” Kame asks, trying to hide his own envy. He’d been offered the same opportunity as Kusano to head to New York for two months, but had come down with the flu and had to spend his summer wrapped up in blankets in a hotel in Venice feeling pathetic and sorry for himself.
“Fucking ace dude. Seriously I was sorry to hear you couldn’t make it. New York is a kickass place,” Kusano enthuses, face lighting up into a bright smile. He suddenly pulls the other man forwards and gestures to Kame brightly. “Oh yeah, this is Shibutani Subaru. He’s in my introduction to jazz class on Thursdays.”
Kame smiles and returns the shorter man’s bow. He’s almost 3 inches shorter than Kame with long wavy brown hair and intense intelligent eyes and Kame can feel the man assessing him quietly and calmly.
“Pleased to meet you Shibutani-kun, my name is Kamansahi Kazuya,” Kame says politely, 18 years of manners shoved down his throat by his parents blossoming. “Feel free to call me Kame though. Everyone else does.”
Subaru smiles slowly, a smile that makes his eyes crinkle and shows a flash of straight white teeth. “It’s nice to meet you Kame-chan. You can call me Subaru or Baru. Whatever floats your boat.”
“Awesome,” Kusano says, grasping onto Kame’s wrist and dragging him and Subaru down to the outside quad where a trio of benches are set around a tree. He collapses onto one and stretches out with a sigh, gesturing for Kame and Subaru to sit down with him. “Ok, so the reason I introduced you guys, apart from to spread my honoured sempai’s reputation,” he says, throwing Kame a quick grin when he sees his cheeks flush slightly at the praise,” is because I’ve been thinking about the winter concert. I know we can audition, and I already figure you’ll be doing something with the piano section, the same way me and Baru will be doing something with the jazz section, but I was thinking right, you took a year of jazz piano right, Kame? With Yamaguchi-sense?”
Kame blinks slightly at the subject change and smiles at Subaru’s eye roll, pleased to note that America hasn’t changed his friend too much.
“Mm yeah. I also took a class over the Christmas period of eleventh grade with Hayato-kun in 1B, so I guess my jazz piano skills aren’t too awful. Why do you ask?”
“Well,” Kusano says, drawing out the ‘l’, and pinning them both with a wide smile. “How’d you guys feel about doing a jazz trio for the concert? I mean Subaru is the best damn double bassist I know, Kame you’re an ace pianist and I’m not a half bad tenor saxophonist, and I figure we’ve got, what, a month to throw something together if we manage to impress Tsubasa-sensei in auditions right? I say we go in there, and blow their minds.”
Kame’s half ready to say no, the idea of trying to practise for a concert, try to remember everything he’s ever learnt about jazz piano and writing three 5000 word essays filling him with a half controlled panic, when he makes the mistake of meeting Kusano’s eyes. He can see Subaru cocking his head to the side thoughtfully, and he knows he’ll say yes, and damn it, Kame already knows he’s doomed when he meets Kusano’s enthusiastic gaze. Kame thinks about meeting in a small room twice a week, listening to Subaru pluck the strings of his bass and the low steady sound of the tenor sax and he already knows he’ll say yes.
“Ok. When’s our first rehearsal?”
This is how Kame finds himself watching Kusano argue with the guy with blonde hair he remembers watching down five pints of Guinness on a bet during fresher’s week, as Akanishi slouches against a wall and juggles four pairs of drum sticks, a thin guy with long brown hair watching him with a bored look of amusement. Akanishi had barely even glanced at Kame when they’d entered the practise room and Kame is torn between relief and outrage. He’s gotten to know Akanishi over the last month and a half thanks to his friendship with Yuu, and they’d gotten to a point where they can comfortably ignore one another without Kame worrying about offending anyone.
“Look, it’s none of your damn business who I play with Akanishi,” Kusano suddenly snaps and Kame looks up in surprise from where he’s busy admiring the a Mason & Hamlin, one of the piano departments better instruments, spread across the back of the practice room, a soft mahogany colour that Kame can’t wait to get his hands on. He’s surprised to find Akanishi’s intensely dark eyes on him, eyebrows twisted into a frown.
“Fine, but don’t you dare come back begging for another musician a week before the winter concert because your pretty, talented piano player couldn’t play a jazz piece if Thelonious Monk himself showed him,” Jin says, shrugging dismissively before lazily walking out of the practice room, the thin attractive boy he’d been juggling for, shrugging almost apologetically before following Akanishi out of the room.
Kame feels his lips twist and a rush of awkward embarrassment fill him. Sure, he won’t be as good as jazz pianist as, say, Kimura Takuya, but fuck does Akanishi need to dismiss him before he’s even heard him play? He stomps over to the piano seat and cracks his fingers once, determination to prove Akanishi wrong rising up, the same determination that had had meant he’d carried on playing the piano even when he’d forgotten the notes during his year 7 music concert, a move that had led his piano teacher to hurriedly cross the stage to shove the score at him.
He catches sight of Subaru, who is calmly finishing up tuning his double bass, and shares a slight nod with him before lifting up the piano cover and running his fingers lightly across the keys.
It’s easy to forget about Akanishi’s dismissal and focus on slipping into Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Lady without worrying about anyone else, and he struggles not to smile when Subaru begins to diligently pluck at his bass, both of them sliding into a familiar pattern of rhythm. And his smile grows wider when he hears Kusano exclaim happily before the familiar strains of his sax starts up, a soft dusky sound pouring out, and fuck Kame had forgotten just how talented Kusano really is.
Kame can almost feel the stress pouring off of him in streams, tension slithering out of his fingers and into the keys until each clash of chords, each sudden change in tempo makes his shoulders unknot, until he’s leant back into the stool, a slight smile on his lips; and as he catches Subaru’s peaceful expression and Kusano’s bright gaze, he knows he’s made the right decision to say yes to the trio.
It’s the same feeling that makes him smile as widely as he can as the cheers surround them after the end of year concert, even with the heavy flush of embarrassment he can feel spreading across his cheeks and neck. They’d played their personal best, and he knows he’s not entirely sure he can ever perform quite as well again in the future.
Kusano grins at him and throws a friendly arm over his and Subaru’s shoulders, dragging them backstage to where the rest of the orchestra are waiting with smiles and cheers. He catches Subaru’s almost smile before he’s dragged into the centre of the jazz band, who are already enthusiastically waving around closed bottles of beer.
Kusano drags him over to where Akanishi is sitting next to Yuu and a broad shouldered guy with curly black hair who’s running a cleaning cloth through his oboe and laughing at something Yuu’s said. Kame is about to pull away from Kusano’s grip as he realises what Kusano is planning, maybe go and talk to Nakamaru from his Classical Music Through The Ages class, when Akanishi suddenly looks up and arches an eyebrow at them both. Yuu, catching Akanishi’s shifting attention looks up and breaks into a huge smile.
“Kame! Congratulations dude. I had no clue you were so damn good at jazz piano.” Yuu enthuses, grinning down at Kame before turning his attention to Kusano. “Kusano, my man, you were fucking ace as usual. When you gonna quit being a stranger and join the brass section again? We’re missing your trumpet skills dude.”
“You play the trumpet?” Kame blurts, eyes widening and Kusano’s nods with a grin.
“Mm, yeah. And yeah, your dad is the best damn trumpet player Japan’s ever produced, I just didn’t figure you needed to hear me fanboy him, you know?” Kusano says easily, shrugging slightly. “But to answer your question Yuu, I’m hoping to join again after Christmas break. Lord knows I’m gonna need some stress relief when exams start in January!”
“Wicked man.” Yuu says, before turning to the curly haired guy with a smile. “But first Kame, I don’t think you’ve met Yamashita Tomohisa. He’s just come back after being struck down by the great swine flu, so he’s been kind of MIA for the last three months. Yamapi, meet my roommate Kamenashi Kazuya, pianist extraordinaire. Jin I believe you’ve already met and been insulted by.”
Yamapi smiles widely at Kame, a genuine smile that dimples his cheeks and lights up his eyes, calmly ignoring the small fight going on between Jin and Yuu next to him.
“Pleased to meet you Kamenashi-kun. Feel free to call me Yamapi,” he says, voice low and husky and strangely at odds with his bright smile.
“Fuck off, Yuu,” Jin suddenly mumbles, smacking Yuu over the head before turning to pin Kame with a slightly narrowed expression. “I guess you weren’t too bad for a classical pianist. But you still need to work on your left hand. It’s still a little bit sloppy during the tempo changes.”
Kame has to swallow his first reaction, an angry retort ready on the tip of his tongue, and simply forces his lips into a mockery of a polite smile, distantly aware of Kusano, Yuu and Yamapi watching on in something akin to amusement.
“Thank you for your kind words Akanishi-kun.” He says icily, bowing ever so slightly. He graces Yuu, Yamapi and Kusano with a slightly more genuine smile. “I will be sure to take your advice under consideration. Now if you will excuse me. Good night.”
He’s pretty sure that Akanishi is mocking him as he smiles one last time, something akin to amusement filling his eyes before Kame turns and walks away. But one thing is for certain; spending the next year rooming with one of Akanishi’s best friends should be interesting.
Summer 2007
Kame groans as the fan gets stuck, desperately trying to muster up the energy to stagger over and turn it back to face him. It’s almost 40 degrees, and humid as a sauna, and he’s trying to muster up the energy to roll out of bed and shower before his 3:15 exam starts. He’d spent the night before trying to cram for his final end of year exam and had barely slept more than two hours. Even then they’d been fretful and restless.
One last lazy stretch and a glance at his watch and Kame stumbles into the bathroom, immediately turning the shower knob to freezing. Yuu is out and he figures he’s got an hour to shower and cram in some more revision before he has to get up and walk to central hall for his exam. It’s almost a relief to step under the cold spray of the shower and just stand there until he can no longer feel the sweat pooling at the base of his spine and sticking his hair to his head.
Three hours later he leaves his last exam, head pounding and hands shaking from the adrenaline rush. He’s half tempted to barricade himself in his room for the night, not entirely convinced he hasn’t managed to fuck his final music theory exam up, but he’d promised Subaru he’d hang with the jazz guys tonight, and he knows that if he doesn’t show Subaru will sic Maruyama onto him, and the last thing he needs is a sugar-happy alto sax player chasing him round campus. With a sigh he drops his books off in his room and heads over to Subaru’s.
He’s not all that surprised that the party is already in full swing. Subaru’s housemate, Koki, is known to throw house parties almost as good as Yuu’s are. Nearly every first year music student is present, as well as a few second years, and the alcohol is running like water. Kame accepts a bottle of beer from one of the tuba players he recognises from jazz rehearsals with a nod of thanks before heading into the kitchen. Koki is busy chatting up a storm in the centre of the room and Kame smiles at Yuu, who is busy making up flaming sambuccas.
“Kame” Koki exclaims when he catches sight of him mid- story, and his smile is huge. His hair has been teased into spikes, and the glitter of his earrings shine against the colour. “It’s good to see you, man. How’s life post-exams?”
Kame returns his handshake warmly and laughs slightly at the question.
“It’s sort of weird. I don’t feel like a real university student if I’m not stressing out over exams,” he jokes, taking a pull of his beer.
“God, do I feel you. Hey, so Subaru and the others are in the common room through the kitchen. He said to send you there when you arrived, so now that my work here is done, I’m gonna go and try to convince the pretty cellist in the corner to have a drink with me. Ciao.” Koki says, slapping Kame’s shoulder before slouching off to the corner of the room where a pretty girl with short dark hair and large brown eyes is drinking vodka and coke through a straw.
He follows Koki’s directions and smiles when he catches sight of Subaru sitting on a sofa in the centre of the room, Maruyama on one side and Yoko on the other. He’s somewhat unsurprised to see Akanishi Jin sprawled out across a chair, head tipped towards Maruyama’s housemate Ryo, empty bottle of tequila hanging from his left hand. Kame shakes his head slightly before returning the greetings from Yoko and Maruyama.
“So, what’s this I hear about you heading to our hometown without us, huh? Careful Kamenashi or we’re going to start thinking you don’t like us,” Yoko says immediately, pouting up at Kame.
“Nah, it was a last minute thing to be honest, something Sakuro-sensei organised at the last minute for the piano section. But I promise to inform you in the future should I ever make it back to Osaka,” Kame says grinning.
“I’m gonna hold you to that, my dear. But as a consolation prize, you can do some vodka shots with us. Hina bought this stuff back from Poland and none of these fuckers are man enough to drink it straight” Yoko says, throwing Subaru and Maruyama a disgusted look.
“Actually, none of us is stupid enough to drink 75% vodka straight,” Maruyama says rolling his eyes at Kame. “Or you know, none of us is drunk enough yet to consider it to be good idea.”
Kame opens his mouth to say no when Yoko takes the initiative and shoves a full shot glass into his arm from a neat line of shots on the coffee table behind him.
“Ok. Here’s to success in everyone’s exams, and not reading another fucking book on music theory for two months. Cheers!” Yoko declares, and Kame sighs when suddenly everyone in the room lifts up a drink and Yoko pins him with an expectant look. Kame sighs again, prays he gets home tonight and downs the shot.
Forty minutes later and Kame’s quite happy to conclude that he’s well and truly on his way to being tipsy. He’s ended up sprawled out on the grass outside of Subaru and Koki’s apartment building with a group of Yuu’s friends, and he blinks when someone sprawls down next to him, and he meets the familiar elegant profile of Akanishi. His eyes are closed and there’s a small smile on his lips.
“You know if you keep up this staring business I’m going to have to start charging you,” Akanishi drawls without opening his eyes and Kame’s lips twist downwards. It’s almost a shame because Akanishi is probably one of the best looking guys on campus, up until he opens his mouth.
Kame rolls his eyes and turns to stare up at the sky. “Has anyone ever told you what an egotistical dick you are? Because if not, I’m going to start making it my mission to inform you every time we meet.”
He hears Jin laugh softly, a slight husk to it before the silence fills the air. Kame refuses to squirm, because damn it, he was here first, but he can feel his shoulders tightening anyway. With a harsh sigh, he moves to stand up, hoping he’ll be able to find Subaru or Koki and go home.
“You off home? There’s a surprise.” Akanishi asks idly, mockingly.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Kame demands hotly, the usual mix of embarrassment and irritation filling him whenever he’s in the same vicinity as Akanishi Jin.
“I’m just wondering if you’ve joined some sort of odd cult where having fun is forbidden. Christ knows you never seem to enjoy the parties Yuu throws to cheer you up,” Akanishi sneers, sitting up and pinning Kame with angry dark eyes.
“Oh I’m sorry, Akanishi, I didn’t realise wanting to graduate from university with a decent degree was a stupid idea. Perhaps I should do what you do then and try to shag my way through every student in our year.” Kame snaps, moving to stand up, fists curled ready for the fight he can feel Akanishi is about to give him.
Instead Akanishi simply smiles, settling back down onto the ground and closing his eyes, dismissing Kame completely.
“Mm you should have told me you were jealous. Maybe focus on something other than university work and I’ll show you a good time,” he murmurs lazily and he’s so fucking self-assured that Kame has to resist the urge to kick him.
Instead he curls his own lips into a smug smile, leans down and hisses at Akanishi, “I don’t do arseholes,” before turning and stalking towards the house again. He catches sight of Akanishi through the kitchen window just before he leaves the house and sees him shaking his head, shoulders shaking with laughter.
And damn, if he doesn’t look good with his head tipped back into the moonlight like that. But Kame shakes his head harshly and turns his back on the garden. After all, he doesn’t need to develop a crush on Akanishi Jin, even if he is the best looking guy on campus.
Maybe if he tells himself that enough times he’ll start to believe it.
~ ~ ~
The party is just reaching its peak when he enters the house again, and he shakes his head when he catches sight of Yuu and Nishikido smoking a splif in the corner of the room. Yuu will wake up starving tomorrow, but if it means he’ll drag Kame to the fantastic katusdon place in the centre of town, Kame isn’t going to complain too much.
He can’t find Subaru but Koki is leaning against the wall, relaxed smile on his face, and a half finished cigarette hanging from his left hand. He glances up when Kame leans next to him and smiles sloppily.
“Hey man. Having’ a good time?” he asks offering the cigarette to him. Kame nods his thanks and takes a drag, cursing high school for getting him addicted to the thin white sticks.
“Mm, you guys throw almost as good a party as Yuu,” he smiles. “Just wanted to let you know I’m heading back. But before I go, Yuu mentioned something the other day about you guys planning to organise a movie night, and I just wanted to let you know that I’ve got an overhead projector my brother gave me last year. It’s not as good a quality if I’d gotten it new, but it works pretty well.”
Koki blinks in surprise and Kame struggles not to fidget. The thing is that yeah, he’s friends with Subaru and Kusano, and him and Yuu are pretty tight, but he figures maybe Akanishi’s got a point; maybe he does focus too much on university work. And well, the one time he’d hung out with Koki after a concert, he’d laughed so hard he’d ended up with stitches for an hour after, so he figures that if he’s going to try to make friends, Koki is definitely at the top of his list. And yet, the way Koki is looking at him makes him feel like taking the words back and just going back to his dorm to hide.
“That would be pretty awesome Kame-chan,” Koki says thoughtfully, face creasing into a giant smile. “But before I start going on about film night, you free tomorrow? Me and Nakamaru are gonna try to catch that new zombie film down at the university campus. Tickets are only ¥1000 on Sundays.”
“Yeah,” Kame says grinning. “I think that would be pretty awesome.”
“Ace man. Oi Nakamaru, we’ve got another taker for the cheap movie night. Hell maybe with two of us you won’t jump like a girl every five seconds tomorrow,” Koki hollers, throwing an arm around Kame’s shoulders and dragging him over to where Nakamaru is protesting loudly at Koki’s statement.
Kame grins, and for once doesn’t worry about getting up early to revise or practice. Maybe he’ll stay at the party for a few more minutes yet.
~ ~ ~
Kame can feel a headache growing behind his eyeballs. It's a Saturday, he has a 5000 word essay on Gluck vs Mozart and instead of locking himself in the practice room to bash away his frustration on the piano department’s piano, he is stuck glaring at Akanishi Jin, who is standing stubbornly in front of the practice room he wants to use
It’s been four days since the party and apart from an excruciatingly awkward dinner Yuu had forced Kame to attend with Akanishi and Yamapi, he’d not seen the other. The last thing he expected to see was Akanishi down in the piano division. Damn it, don’t they have their own practice rooms, he thinks darkly, straightening up when he catches sight of Akanishi smirking at him.
"You can stop glaring at me like that, Kamenashi, before you ruin your pretty face. You didn't sign up to use the practice room and I'm sure as hell not moving." Jin says, narrowing his eyes as Kame takes a step forward, as if he expects Kame to suddenly dive towards him and push him out of the way of the practice room door.
"Damn it Akanishi, I signed into use the room with Domoto-sensei ok? It's not my fault if the scatter brained idiot didn't write my name down. Now if you don't move in the next five minutes I swear to God I am not above using physical violence." Kame hisses dangerously, already wondering if he can knock Akanishi out with a music stand some careless student had left out in the corridor.
Akanishi copies him and takes two steps towards him, crossing his arms across his chest stubbornly. "Not my fault if you signed up to use the practice room with that idiot Koichi," Akanishi sneers. "And as much as I enjoy arguing with you out here, I've got two hours of free time and I intend to spend them practicing, not arguing with uppity pianists."
Kame is filled with such sudden rage that he wants to punch Akanishi. He's never been particularly violent but something about Akanishi presses all of his buttons. Yuu had stupidly suggested that it was sexual tension once and had come close to being pushed in front of a car. Sure, Akanishi is good looking if you like the smug, perfectly-dressed look, which Kame does not thank you very much. It's just that every time he opens his mouth, all of the admiring thoughts Kame might have had about his looks disappear in a blaze of irritation and frustration. He takes a deep breath, considers snapping something devastatingly witty back, before deciding Akanishi just isn't worth it. Instead he sneers back at Akanishi before turning around and walking away. Maybe Oguri-kun in his piano division will let him share a practice room with him, he thinks darkly.
"You know, I'd thought you were more of a fighter. You've let me down," Akanishi calls after him, sounding amused and smug.
Kame turns around just before he opens the heavy doors into the main offices and graces Akanishi with a slightly vicious smile and a mocking bow.
"Apologies. I wasn't aware that stuck-up percussionists who thrive on putting others down were worthy of a proper fight. Do enjoy your practice, Akanishi," he says, voice perfectly bland and face perfectly blank. He gets the reaction he wants when Akanishi's lips tighten and his eyes narrow.
Score, Kame thinks. He may not be as pushy as Akanishi but never let it be said that Kame doesn't know how to fight back.
Part II
By: gingifere
Pairing: Akame
Rating: PG-13
Genre/Warnings: None.
Prompt (if used): None.
Notes: To gothicauthor I hope you have as much fun reading this as I did writing it, and hopefully it meets all of your requirements! One small explanation; busking is the practice of performing in public places for tips and gratuities i.e. performing at tube/train stations etc.
I have a whole host of people to thank for supporting me with this fic; everyone on my twitter and flist who listened to me whine. I’d especially like to thank N, R and S for beta reading this monster, and to C for listening to me flail and panic about this. You guys are my number one. Title taken from Pink Floyd’s Great Gig In The Sky, a truly fantastic piece of music.
Summary: Kame can take the stress (probably) of training to become one of the world's best pianists; dealing with his fellow students--and one in particular--is another matter.
Autumn 2006
Kame can remember his first day at Tōkyō Geijutsu Daigaku almost perfectly; his dad hadn’t been able to make it, a sudden mix-up with his schedule forcing him to fly three days early to London to play for the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, and so his mother had forced all four of them into the car at 7 am the day of his move-in into the dorms in Nerima, and forced his brothers to help him move in. Yūichirō had been amused at all the junk Kame had somehow managed to convince himself he’d needed to bring to university with him, whilst Kōji had bitched about the hot date in Disneyland he’d had to skip out on to help his baby brother. Yuya had simply spent the majority of the car ride telling Kame how lucky he was to move into his own place, even if he did have to share his shower.
They ended up driving around in circles for half an hour because the directions the university sent him were shit and the old lady behind the combini tucked next to a post office had no idea where Hatori College was, much less where he was supposed to collect his keys and register. Which was why by the time midday came round, his mother was about ready to throw all four of them out of the car and Kame was ready to simply jump out of the car and walk to the university reception if it would mean his brothers would stop whining.
By the time they arrived at his college they were cranky and hungry and Yūichirō and Kōji all but threw Kame and his suitcases out of the car into his dorm room whilst his mother tutted and fretted about how small his bedroom was.
“Seriously mum,” Kame sighed as she fluttered around the room throwing disdainful looks at the opened suitcase on Kame’s roommate’s bed, clothes thrown haphazardly on the floor.
“Look, at least I get my own sink ok?” he continued, gesturing to where two single sinks are tucked just inside the wall by the front door. One of them already had after shave, a tooth brush and tooth paste scattered all over it, and Kame figured he’d need to invest in a toothbrush holder simply to avoid getting toothpaste all over the sink.
“Hmm,” his mother said, frowning. “I told your father we should have gone for a private en-suite bedroom for you, but no your father tells me that sharing a room is all part of the learning experience. Well if your roommate murders you in the night, your father certainly won’t be saying that.”
Kame caught Yuya’s eyes and smiled as his little brother rolled his eyes as he followed Yūichirō and Kōji outside to the car bring in the rest of the suitcases. All four of them are used to his mother’s half hysterical rants and have as such learnt to just let he be when she works herself up into a state.
Swallowing a sigh, Kame glanced around his room, feeling the first frission of excitement and nerves curl in his stomach. This was the first time he’d been away from home on his own, and he was caught between joy at the idea of freedom and fear that he’ll end up rooming with someone awful, that he won’t be able to handle the work load and his first year of university will end in a fiery ball of disaster. He knew it was irrational, but a childhood spent with one of the most prolific trumpet players in the world as his father meant he had a deep-set fear of failing.
Almost as if his mother could hear his thoughts, she stopped mid-rant and pinned him with a soft smile.
“You know we’ll always be supporting you, don’t you?” she asked, moving forward to slip an arm around his. “No matter what your father says when he gets into one of his hysterical old man rants, we’ll always be proud of you.”
“Even if I dropped out of uni to become a busker for the rest of my life?” Kame asked, trying to hide his smile.
“Well, you might want to consider moving to England if you do decide to take up busking, and giving your father at least ten years to deal with the heart attack you’ll likely cause,” his mother said, eye sparkling with humour. “But yes. You will always have our support.”
Kame could feel his mouth curve into an awkward half smile, and he knew he was going to say something horrifically embarrassing that will cause his mother to well up and his brothers to punch his arm if they overhear it, but before he could, the door swung open and a boy with the largest hair he had ever seen stumbled through the door.
He was met with a bright blinding smile, and shockingly dark brown eyes before the guy dumped what looked like a tuba case onto the floor, and loped across the room, hand already out.
“Hey man, you must be Kamenashi-kun right? I’m Shirota Yuu, pleased to meet you.” He said in a low, slightly accented voice. Despite the fact that he was wearing a pair of jeans that were more hole than fabric, his smile was bright and genuine and Kame felt his lips quirk into his own genuine smile.
“Mm, call me Kame. Pleased to meet you Shirota-san.” Kame smiled, taking his hand gingerly before gesturing to his mother. “This is my mother, Kamenashi Keiko.”
Shirota’s smile grew even wider when he turned to face Kame’s mother, and he bowed politely and elegantly.
“Please call me Yuu. Shirota makes me sound like my brother, and believe me that is not a good thing.” Yuu said, shrugging off his coat.
Kame could practically feel his mother relaxing at Yuu’s polite, sincere-seeming smile, and breathed a sigh of relief that she won’t be ringing every night to ensure that he’d not been kidnapped in the night.
His mother opened her mouth, and Kame could already feel the embarrassing barrage of questions she’ll ask Yuu, questions about his parents, about what he plays and what he will be taking, all covered by a thin veneer of politeness when the door swung open again and Koji stumbled through with two suitcases.
“Jesus, Kame, I am never ever helping you move again. What did you bring, your entire bloody wardrobe?” he demanded, completely unaware that Kame’s mother had pinned him with a narrow dangerous glare.
“I beg your pardon, Kamenashi Koji, but I do hope I did not just hear you swear at your little brother,” she demanded softly and dangerously and Kame met Yuu’s raised eyebrow and little smile with an eye roll.
As Koji tried to defend himself and Yuu slid over to Kame to tell him about the welcome party tonight, Kame felt that maybe he’d settle in just fine.
~ ~ ~
Five hours later he’s regretting ever agreeing to hang out with Shirota Yuu’s friends. Yuu, it seems, is a snake in sheep’s clothing, a slimy little bastard who’s made friends with nearly every first year student in the school already.
When Yuu had suggested they go a grab a few drinks at the student bar, he’d blissfully agreed, the memory of his families exuberant goodbyes still fresh in his mind. He’d expected a decent sized bar, maybe to have a few pints before heading back to his room to finish his unpacking. Instead he’s sandwiched between Yuu and a short guy called Nishikido who’d sneered when he’d learned that Kame played the violin as well as the piano, muttering something about pond scum and violinists, and he’s currently watching in something akin to horror as a guy with shaved white blonde hair mixes beer with vodka, sambuca and sake before thrusting it in front of tall guy with long curled brown hair.
He’s somewhat unsurprised when the curly haired guy downs the drink and smirks slowly at the cheers, tongue running along his bottom lip. Kame is even more unsurprised when he suddenly turns to pin Kame with a smug smile, arching an eyebrow at Kame’s frown.
Kame’s scowl deepens as the guy (Akanishi he remembers, the bastard who stole the last Rachmaninov Piano Concerto score right out from under Kame’s nose, and who instead of looking apologetic, had simply shrugged and said casually “You lose some, you win some”. Kame had been tempted to show him just how ex-baseball players deal with losses, until his mother had started calling his name and he’d had to stick with grumpily stalking out of the shop), winks at him before sauntering over to where the rest of the percussion section are sitting, various selections of vodka and gin in front of them.
He jumps slightly when Yuu shoves a bottle of beer into his hand with a bright smile, before shoving an arm around his shoulders and forcing him to join into a drunken rendition of ‘Fat Bottom Girls’. It’s hard not to smile after that and even as Kame spends the next day on his knees in the bathroom, he figures that it’s a fitting start to university.
~ ~ ~
Winter 2006
Kame’s halfway through his first winter term when he meets Shibutani Subaru for the first time. He’s spent most of November trying not to hyperventilate at his work load and organising a working rota so that he doesn’t keep Yuu up with work and Yuu doesn’t keep him up with partying. He’s not quite sure how Yuu manages to balance being a full time cello student with going out four times a week and getting absolutely snookered.
Kame’s searching through the different leaflets pinned to the student notice board, wondering if he can get a job tutoring someone, because money’s been tight and Lord knows he’s not about to demand any more cash from his parents, when Kusano suddenly appears next to him, baritone sax case banging loudly against the side of the wall. He’s met with Kusano’s blinding smile as he pulls another shorter man after him, who stares at him rather blankly.
“Kame, man it’s good to see you!” Kusano says brightly, and Kame feels himself smile back. He hasn’t seen Kusano since his final year at high school and he’s looking good.
“Mm, you too. I heard you spent your summer in America. How was Julliard?” Kame asks, trying to hide his own envy. He’d been offered the same opportunity as Kusano to head to New York for two months, but had come down with the flu and had to spend his summer wrapped up in blankets in a hotel in Venice feeling pathetic and sorry for himself.
“Fucking ace dude. Seriously I was sorry to hear you couldn’t make it. New York is a kickass place,” Kusano enthuses, face lighting up into a bright smile. He suddenly pulls the other man forwards and gestures to Kame brightly. “Oh yeah, this is Shibutani Subaru. He’s in my introduction to jazz class on Thursdays.”
Kame smiles and returns the shorter man’s bow. He’s almost 3 inches shorter than Kame with long wavy brown hair and intense intelligent eyes and Kame can feel the man assessing him quietly and calmly.
“Pleased to meet you Shibutani-kun, my name is Kamansahi Kazuya,” Kame says politely, 18 years of manners shoved down his throat by his parents blossoming. “Feel free to call me Kame though. Everyone else does.”
Subaru smiles slowly, a smile that makes his eyes crinkle and shows a flash of straight white teeth. “It’s nice to meet you Kame-chan. You can call me Subaru or Baru. Whatever floats your boat.”
“Awesome,” Kusano says, grasping onto Kame’s wrist and dragging him and Subaru down to the outside quad where a trio of benches are set around a tree. He collapses onto one and stretches out with a sigh, gesturing for Kame and Subaru to sit down with him. “Ok, so the reason I introduced you guys, apart from to spread my honoured sempai’s reputation,” he says, throwing Kame a quick grin when he sees his cheeks flush slightly at the praise,” is because I’ve been thinking about the winter concert. I know we can audition, and I already figure you’ll be doing something with the piano section, the same way me and Baru will be doing something with the jazz section, but I was thinking right, you took a year of jazz piano right, Kame? With Yamaguchi-sense?”
Kame blinks slightly at the subject change and smiles at Subaru’s eye roll, pleased to note that America hasn’t changed his friend too much.
“Mm yeah. I also took a class over the Christmas period of eleventh grade with Hayato-kun in 1B, so I guess my jazz piano skills aren’t too awful. Why do you ask?”
“Well,” Kusano says, drawing out the ‘l’, and pinning them both with a wide smile. “How’d you guys feel about doing a jazz trio for the concert? I mean Subaru is the best damn double bassist I know, Kame you’re an ace pianist and I’m not a half bad tenor saxophonist, and I figure we’ve got, what, a month to throw something together if we manage to impress Tsubasa-sensei in auditions right? I say we go in there, and blow their minds.”
Kame’s half ready to say no, the idea of trying to practise for a concert, try to remember everything he’s ever learnt about jazz piano and writing three 5000 word essays filling him with a half controlled panic, when he makes the mistake of meeting Kusano’s eyes. He can see Subaru cocking his head to the side thoughtfully, and he knows he’ll say yes, and damn it, Kame already knows he’s doomed when he meets Kusano’s enthusiastic gaze. Kame thinks about meeting in a small room twice a week, listening to Subaru pluck the strings of his bass and the low steady sound of the tenor sax and he already knows he’ll say yes.
“Ok. When’s our first rehearsal?”
This is how Kame finds himself watching Kusano argue with the guy with blonde hair he remembers watching down five pints of Guinness on a bet during fresher’s week, as Akanishi slouches against a wall and juggles four pairs of drum sticks, a thin guy with long brown hair watching him with a bored look of amusement. Akanishi had barely even glanced at Kame when they’d entered the practise room and Kame is torn between relief and outrage. He’s gotten to know Akanishi over the last month and a half thanks to his friendship with Yuu, and they’d gotten to a point where they can comfortably ignore one another without Kame worrying about offending anyone.
“Look, it’s none of your damn business who I play with Akanishi,” Kusano suddenly snaps and Kame looks up in surprise from where he’s busy admiring the a Mason & Hamlin, one of the piano departments better instruments, spread across the back of the practice room, a soft mahogany colour that Kame can’t wait to get his hands on. He’s surprised to find Akanishi’s intensely dark eyes on him, eyebrows twisted into a frown.
“Fine, but don’t you dare come back begging for another musician a week before the winter concert because your pretty, talented piano player couldn’t play a jazz piece if Thelonious Monk himself showed him,” Jin says, shrugging dismissively before lazily walking out of the practice room, the thin attractive boy he’d been juggling for, shrugging almost apologetically before following Akanishi out of the room.
Kame feels his lips twist and a rush of awkward embarrassment fill him. Sure, he won’t be as good as jazz pianist as, say, Kimura Takuya, but fuck does Akanishi need to dismiss him before he’s even heard him play? He stomps over to the piano seat and cracks his fingers once, determination to prove Akanishi wrong rising up, the same determination that had had meant he’d carried on playing the piano even when he’d forgotten the notes during his year 7 music concert, a move that had led his piano teacher to hurriedly cross the stage to shove the score at him.
He catches sight of Subaru, who is calmly finishing up tuning his double bass, and shares a slight nod with him before lifting up the piano cover and running his fingers lightly across the keys.
It’s easy to forget about Akanishi’s dismissal and focus on slipping into Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Lady without worrying about anyone else, and he struggles not to smile when Subaru begins to diligently pluck at his bass, both of them sliding into a familiar pattern of rhythm. And his smile grows wider when he hears Kusano exclaim happily before the familiar strains of his sax starts up, a soft dusky sound pouring out, and fuck Kame had forgotten just how talented Kusano really is.
Kame can almost feel the stress pouring off of him in streams, tension slithering out of his fingers and into the keys until each clash of chords, each sudden change in tempo makes his shoulders unknot, until he’s leant back into the stool, a slight smile on his lips; and as he catches Subaru’s peaceful expression and Kusano’s bright gaze, he knows he’s made the right decision to say yes to the trio.
It’s the same feeling that makes him smile as widely as he can as the cheers surround them after the end of year concert, even with the heavy flush of embarrassment he can feel spreading across his cheeks and neck. They’d played their personal best, and he knows he’s not entirely sure he can ever perform quite as well again in the future.
Kusano grins at him and throws a friendly arm over his and Subaru’s shoulders, dragging them backstage to where the rest of the orchestra are waiting with smiles and cheers. He catches Subaru’s almost smile before he’s dragged into the centre of the jazz band, who are already enthusiastically waving around closed bottles of beer.
Kusano drags him over to where Akanishi is sitting next to Yuu and a broad shouldered guy with curly black hair who’s running a cleaning cloth through his oboe and laughing at something Yuu’s said. Kame is about to pull away from Kusano’s grip as he realises what Kusano is planning, maybe go and talk to Nakamaru from his Classical Music Through The Ages class, when Akanishi suddenly looks up and arches an eyebrow at them both. Yuu, catching Akanishi’s shifting attention looks up and breaks into a huge smile.
“Kame! Congratulations dude. I had no clue you were so damn good at jazz piano.” Yuu enthuses, grinning down at Kame before turning his attention to Kusano. “Kusano, my man, you were fucking ace as usual. When you gonna quit being a stranger and join the brass section again? We’re missing your trumpet skills dude.”
“You play the trumpet?” Kame blurts, eyes widening and Kusano’s nods with a grin.
“Mm, yeah. And yeah, your dad is the best damn trumpet player Japan’s ever produced, I just didn’t figure you needed to hear me fanboy him, you know?” Kusano says easily, shrugging slightly. “But to answer your question Yuu, I’m hoping to join again after Christmas break. Lord knows I’m gonna need some stress relief when exams start in January!”
“Wicked man.” Yuu says, before turning to the curly haired guy with a smile. “But first Kame, I don’t think you’ve met Yamashita Tomohisa. He’s just come back after being struck down by the great swine flu, so he’s been kind of MIA for the last three months. Yamapi, meet my roommate Kamenashi Kazuya, pianist extraordinaire. Jin I believe you’ve already met and been insulted by.”
Yamapi smiles widely at Kame, a genuine smile that dimples his cheeks and lights up his eyes, calmly ignoring the small fight going on between Jin and Yuu next to him.
“Pleased to meet you Kamenashi-kun. Feel free to call me Yamapi,” he says, voice low and husky and strangely at odds with his bright smile.
“Fuck off, Yuu,” Jin suddenly mumbles, smacking Yuu over the head before turning to pin Kame with a slightly narrowed expression. “I guess you weren’t too bad for a classical pianist. But you still need to work on your left hand. It’s still a little bit sloppy during the tempo changes.”
Kame has to swallow his first reaction, an angry retort ready on the tip of his tongue, and simply forces his lips into a mockery of a polite smile, distantly aware of Kusano, Yuu and Yamapi watching on in something akin to amusement.
“Thank you for your kind words Akanishi-kun.” He says icily, bowing ever so slightly. He graces Yuu, Yamapi and Kusano with a slightly more genuine smile. “I will be sure to take your advice under consideration. Now if you will excuse me. Good night.”
He’s pretty sure that Akanishi is mocking him as he smiles one last time, something akin to amusement filling his eyes before Kame turns and walks away. But one thing is for certain; spending the next year rooming with one of Akanishi’s best friends should be interesting.
Summer 2007
Kame groans as the fan gets stuck, desperately trying to muster up the energy to stagger over and turn it back to face him. It’s almost 40 degrees, and humid as a sauna, and he’s trying to muster up the energy to roll out of bed and shower before his 3:15 exam starts. He’d spent the night before trying to cram for his final end of year exam and had barely slept more than two hours. Even then they’d been fretful and restless.
One last lazy stretch and a glance at his watch and Kame stumbles into the bathroom, immediately turning the shower knob to freezing. Yuu is out and he figures he’s got an hour to shower and cram in some more revision before he has to get up and walk to central hall for his exam. It’s almost a relief to step under the cold spray of the shower and just stand there until he can no longer feel the sweat pooling at the base of his spine and sticking his hair to his head.
Three hours later he leaves his last exam, head pounding and hands shaking from the adrenaline rush. He’s half tempted to barricade himself in his room for the night, not entirely convinced he hasn’t managed to fuck his final music theory exam up, but he’d promised Subaru he’d hang with the jazz guys tonight, and he knows that if he doesn’t show Subaru will sic Maruyama onto him, and the last thing he needs is a sugar-happy alto sax player chasing him round campus. With a sigh he drops his books off in his room and heads over to Subaru’s.
He’s not all that surprised that the party is already in full swing. Subaru’s housemate, Koki, is known to throw house parties almost as good as Yuu’s are. Nearly every first year music student is present, as well as a few second years, and the alcohol is running like water. Kame accepts a bottle of beer from one of the tuba players he recognises from jazz rehearsals with a nod of thanks before heading into the kitchen. Koki is busy chatting up a storm in the centre of the room and Kame smiles at Yuu, who is busy making up flaming sambuccas.
“Kame” Koki exclaims when he catches sight of him mid- story, and his smile is huge. His hair has been teased into spikes, and the glitter of his earrings shine against the colour. “It’s good to see you, man. How’s life post-exams?”
Kame returns his handshake warmly and laughs slightly at the question.
“It’s sort of weird. I don’t feel like a real university student if I’m not stressing out over exams,” he jokes, taking a pull of his beer.
“God, do I feel you. Hey, so Subaru and the others are in the common room through the kitchen. He said to send you there when you arrived, so now that my work here is done, I’m gonna go and try to convince the pretty cellist in the corner to have a drink with me. Ciao.” Koki says, slapping Kame’s shoulder before slouching off to the corner of the room where a pretty girl with short dark hair and large brown eyes is drinking vodka and coke through a straw.
He follows Koki’s directions and smiles when he catches sight of Subaru sitting on a sofa in the centre of the room, Maruyama on one side and Yoko on the other. He’s somewhat unsurprised to see Akanishi Jin sprawled out across a chair, head tipped towards Maruyama’s housemate Ryo, empty bottle of tequila hanging from his left hand. Kame shakes his head slightly before returning the greetings from Yoko and Maruyama.
“So, what’s this I hear about you heading to our hometown without us, huh? Careful Kamenashi or we’re going to start thinking you don’t like us,” Yoko says immediately, pouting up at Kame.
“Nah, it was a last minute thing to be honest, something Sakuro-sensei organised at the last minute for the piano section. But I promise to inform you in the future should I ever make it back to Osaka,” Kame says grinning.
“I’m gonna hold you to that, my dear. But as a consolation prize, you can do some vodka shots with us. Hina bought this stuff back from Poland and none of these fuckers are man enough to drink it straight” Yoko says, throwing Subaru and Maruyama a disgusted look.
“Actually, none of us is stupid enough to drink 75% vodka straight,” Maruyama says rolling his eyes at Kame. “Or you know, none of us is drunk enough yet to consider it to be good idea.”
Kame opens his mouth to say no when Yoko takes the initiative and shoves a full shot glass into his arm from a neat line of shots on the coffee table behind him.
“Ok. Here’s to success in everyone’s exams, and not reading another fucking book on music theory for two months. Cheers!” Yoko declares, and Kame sighs when suddenly everyone in the room lifts up a drink and Yoko pins him with an expectant look. Kame sighs again, prays he gets home tonight and downs the shot.
Forty minutes later and Kame’s quite happy to conclude that he’s well and truly on his way to being tipsy. He’s ended up sprawled out on the grass outside of Subaru and Koki’s apartment building with a group of Yuu’s friends, and he blinks when someone sprawls down next to him, and he meets the familiar elegant profile of Akanishi. His eyes are closed and there’s a small smile on his lips.
“You know if you keep up this staring business I’m going to have to start charging you,” Akanishi drawls without opening his eyes and Kame’s lips twist downwards. It’s almost a shame because Akanishi is probably one of the best looking guys on campus, up until he opens his mouth.
Kame rolls his eyes and turns to stare up at the sky. “Has anyone ever told you what an egotistical dick you are? Because if not, I’m going to start making it my mission to inform you every time we meet.”
He hears Jin laugh softly, a slight husk to it before the silence fills the air. Kame refuses to squirm, because damn it, he was here first, but he can feel his shoulders tightening anyway. With a harsh sigh, he moves to stand up, hoping he’ll be able to find Subaru or Koki and go home.
“You off home? There’s a surprise.” Akanishi asks idly, mockingly.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Kame demands hotly, the usual mix of embarrassment and irritation filling him whenever he’s in the same vicinity as Akanishi Jin.
“I’m just wondering if you’ve joined some sort of odd cult where having fun is forbidden. Christ knows you never seem to enjoy the parties Yuu throws to cheer you up,” Akanishi sneers, sitting up and pinning Kame with angry dark eyes.
“Oh I’m sorry, Akanishi, I didn’t realise wanting to graduate from university with a decent degree was a stupid idea. Perhaps I should do what you do then and try to shag my way through every student in our year.” Kame snaps, moving to stand up, fists curled ready for the fight he can feel Akanishi is about to give him.
Instead Akanishi simply smiles, settling back down onto the ground and closing his eyes, dismissing Kame completely.
“Mm you should have told me you were jealous. Maybe focus on something other than university work and I’ll show you a good time,” he murmurs lazily and he’s so fucking self-assured that Kame has to resist the urge to kick him.
Instead he curls his own lips into a smug smile, leans down and hisses at Akanishi, “I don’t do arseholes,” before turning and stalking towards the house again. He catches sight of Akanishi through the kitchen window just before he leaves the house and sees him shaking his head, shoulders shaking with laughter.
And damn, if he doesn’t look good with his head tipped back into the moonlight like that. But Kame shakes his head harshly and turns his back on the garden. After all, he doesn’t need to develop a crush on Akanishi Jin, even if he is the best looking guy on campus.
Maybe if he tells himself that enough times he’ll start to believe it.
~ ~ ~
The party is just reaching its peak when he enters the house again, and he shakes his head when he catches sight of Yuu and Nishikido smoking a splif in the corner of the room. Yuu will wake up starving tomorrow, but if it means he’ll drag Kame to the fantastic katusdon place in the centre of town, Kame isn’t going to complain too much.
He can’t find Subaru but Koki is leaning against the wall, relaxed smile on his face, and a half finished cigarette hanging from his left hand. He glances up when Kame leans next to him and smiles sloppily.
“Hey man. Having’ a good time?” he asks offering the cigarette to him. Kame nods his thanks and takes a drag, cursing high school for getting him addicted to the thin white sticks.
“Mm, you guys throw almost as good a party as Yuu,” he smiles. “Just wanted to let you know I’m heading back. But before I go, Yuu mentioned something the other day about you guys planning to organise a movie night, and I just wanted to let you know that I’ve got an overhead projector my brother gave me last year. It’s not as good a quality if I’d gotten it new, but it works pretty well.”
Koki blinks in surprise and Kame struggles not to fidget. The thing is that yeah, he’s friends with Subaru and Kusano, and him and Yuu are pretty tight, but he figures maybe Akanishi’s got a point; maybe he does focus too much on university work. And well, the one time he’d hung out with Koki after a concert, he’d laughed so hard he’d ended up with stitches for an hour after, so he figures that if he’s going to try to make friends, Koki is definitely at the top of his list. And yet, the way Koki is looking at him makes him feel like taking the words back and just going back to his dorm to hide.
“That would be pretty awesome Kame-chan,” Koki says thoughtfully, face creasing into a giant smile. “But before I start going on about film night, you free tomorrow? Me and Nakamaru are gonna try to catch that new zombie film down at the university campus. Tickets are only ¥1000 on Sundays.”
“Yeah,” Kame says grinning. “I think that would be pretty awesome.”
“Ace man. Oi Nakamaru, we’ve got another taker for the cheap movie night. Hell maybe with two of us you won’t jump like a girl every five seconds tomorrow,” Koki hollers, throwing an arm around Kame’s shoulders and dragging him over to where Nakamaru is protesting loudly at Koki’s statement.
Kame grins, and for once doesn’t worry about getting up early to revise or practice. Maybe he’ll stay at the party for a few more minutes yet.
~ ~ ~
Kame can feel a headache growing behind his eyeballs. It's a Saturday, he has a 5000 word essay on Gluck vs Mozart and instead of locking himself in the practice room to bash away his frustration on the piano department’s piano, he is stuck glaring at Akanishi Jin, who is standing stubbornly in front of the practice room he wants to use
It’s been four days since the party and apart from an excruciatingly awkward dinner Yuu had forced Kame to attend with Akanishi and Yamapi, he’d not seen the other. The last thing he expected to see was Akanishi down in the piano division. Damn it, don’t they have their own practice rooms, he thinks darkly, straightening up when he catches sight of Akanishi smirking at him.
"You can stop glaring at me like that, Kamenashi, before you ruin your pretty face. You didn't sign up to use the practice room and I'm sure as hell not moving." Jin says, narrowing his eyes as Kame takes a step forward, as if he expects Kame to suddenly dive towards him and push him out of the way of the practice room door.
"Damn it Akanishi, I signed into use the room with Domoto-sensei ok? It's not my fault if the scatter brained idiot didn't write my name down. Now if you don't move in the next five minutes I swear to God I am not above using physical violence." Kame hisses dangerously, already wondering if he can knock Akanishi out with a music stand some careless student had left out in the corridor.
Akanishi copies him and takes two steps towards him, crossing his arms across his chest stubbornly. "Not my fault if you signed up to use the practice room with that idiot Koichi," Akanishi sneers. "And as much as I enjoy arguing with you out here, I've got two hours of free time and I intend to spend them practicing, not arguing with uppity pianists."
Kame is filled with such sudden rage that he wants to punch Akanishi. He's never been particularly violent but something about Akanishi presses all of his buttons. Yuu had stupidly suggested that it was sexual tension once and had come close to being pushed in front of a car. Sure, Akanishi is good looking if you like the smug, perfectly-dressed look, which Kame does not thank you very much. It's just that every time he opens his mouth, all of the admiring thoughts Kame might have had about his looks disappear in a blaze of irritation and frustration. He takes a deep breath, considers snapping something devastatingly witty back, before deciding Akanishi just isn't worth it. Instead he sneers back at Akanishi before turning around and walking away. Maybe Oguri-kun in his piano division will let him share a practice room with him, he thinks darkly.
"You know, I'd thought you were more of a fighter. You've let me down," Akanishi calls after him, sounding amused and smug.
Kame turns around just before he opens the heavy doors into the main offices and graces Akanishi with a slightly vicious smile and a mocking bow.
"Apologies. I wasn't aware that stuck-up percussionists who thrive on putting others down were worthy of a proper fight. Do enjoy your practice, Akanishi," he says, voice perfectly bland and face perfectly blank. He gets the reaction he wants when Akanishi's lips tighten and his eyes narrow.
Score, Kame thinks. He may not be as pushy as Akanishi but never let it be said that Kame doesn't know how to fight back.
Part II