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Upon seeing Kou, the soloist's body practically tingled from head to toes, a broad, somewhat goofy smile coming over his face.

"You like my new look?" he asked the host as he stepped into the man's apartment, not really having minded the rain or the storm. It somehow suited his mood at the moment, inasmuch as it had a strange calming effect on him.

"No worries, Kou...I probably shouldn't have been in such a rush to get over here." Ryu accepted the towel and gently patted his hair dry with one hand as he held out the two large bags in the other. Luckily, the bags had been tied shut so the contents hadn't gotten wet.

Inside, there was knitting thread of all sorts and colors, all the finest cashmeres and silks, chenilles and fleeces.

"Thought I'd bring a gift..." the vocalist grinned again, hoping that his new friend would find the offerings pleasing.





(OOC: Yeah, I'm home.))

"Well..." for a moment, it seemed like Takagi would disagree.
There was no doubt in his mind of course that Aki didn't consider Yuuji family. He wasn't the direct blood that flowed through his veins like Akihiko was... and there might've been more of a chance of Yuuji becoming family had Yuriko not been murdered... but that course was obviously out the window.

Yuuji shrugged, "I've done a lot of things for Aki over the years... more lately than anything and most of your theory holds up. I don't think it was Aki's intention for you or Akihiko to get as hurt as you did at Izo's hands though... I mean... I've been shadowing you two for a while now... of course you know I know the identity of the man who hurt you both and that's the knowledge that I was keeping secret to keep Izo from killing my son... and I'll continue keeping it a secret because I don't want his number one coming after my boy in the middle of the night. So..." walking over to the wall, Takagi leaned against it comfortably. "I mean the rest of what you're saying makes sense. Aki played everyone like a damn chess board and I watched him do it half the time. If Akihiko asks he might just get an answer BUT..." the man held up a hand. "Aki won't let Akihiko close enough to ask. At least not on his own. I might be able to get him into the estate... but I'd end up incapacitating half a dozen security guards at least... and those are guards we could use elsewhere if push came to shove." Sighing, Yuuji shook his head. "And even if Akihiko asks... you're right, Aki's going to demand a price be paid for that knowledge. I've a feeling I know what it is though and neither of you are going to like it at all... unless the old b*****d's had a change of heart in the last few weeks. But I really have no idea what secret he's keeping so close to the vest. Especially a secret with the kind of firepower to keep Izo's mitts off Ohayou until the man dies..."
















Wincing slightly, Akihiko stood from the piano bench and paced for a moment, one lithe finger tapping his chin.
Then he smirked and whirled around to face Shou.
"I've got it! Ko-kun's a kid... kid's get sick ALL the time, ne? Don't decline Matsumoto-san's invitation until the day of the dinner and then just phone him up and explain that Ko-kun's ill. If worst comes to worst you can always go alone if you have to, and I'm sure NAKO-san and Yamada-san can look after Ko-kun if nothing else. Hell, Ruki and I'll look after him even... but honestly..." the young tiger's blue eyes turned a bit icy.
It wasn't directed at Shou however... more like the mere thought of the spider.
"I wouldn't let Ko-kun set foot within a mile of Matsumoto-san if you can help it, Shou-san."

"Yeah, I guess it does kinda make me a walking target...but, oddly enough, nobody seems to recognize me with this look, yet. Temporarily, it's a good thing." Ryuukaze commented. Of course, once the public got a good look at him like this and was able to identify the hair...oh boy. Maybe he needed to talk to Matsumoto-san about that...

"The girls at Tokyuu Hands were very nice, though. I told them it was for a friend, though. They were trying to be polite, but I could tell they were just a little bit confused..."

Ok, they had looked at him like he had two heads, but at least they kept smiling!

Taking the beer, the vocalist cracked it and took a long chug, then took a seat in the other bean bag.

"I don't have much of an appetite right now, but thank you. My day? Well, busy...but pretty typical, for the most part. My boss thought I should change my look a little...that's how I ended up like this. Had to talk with the PR head to sort things out about...last night. The story is that I was just trying to be fashionable and give a European greeting...and I was doing it wrong. Sounds about right, for me..." he chuckled, sipping his beer.

"A wig? I dunno...that sounds a little stuffy for all day wear. I don't see how you work wearing wigs all the time. I was thinking more along the lines of just pulling it back and letting it hang in a slick ponytail or something..." Ryu spoke softly as he tried to relax.

"What made me decide? Ah...well, I didn't really decide. Not..really. The boss had me go see the stylists, and they just kind of...did their thing. I did say absolutely not to a few things...but, in the end, I just went with the flow."

Wow...when he said all that out loud, it really made him sound pretty...lame.

"Man...I dunno. I guess I'm just kinda out of touch with myself lately..." the star lamented, chugging his beer a bit.

"I'm glad your day wasn't pure hell...courtesy of me. It seems that I'm really, really bad about making everybody's life rough, even when I mean well. I do believe everything is under control, now, though. Of course, I'm sure there will be those who don't buy it, but it will all blow over pretty quickly."

For a moment, Ryuukaze gazed out the apartment window, a bolt of lightning flashing in the distance, brightening his features for a split second. It almost made him seem...eerie.

"Hey, I'll give you tickets to any of my shows you want to come to, Kou. You don't even have to ask. I might even be able to come up with something for you to go see Narcissus...even though we're from competing labels and all. I can guarantee there will be hordes of frantic girls there, though....and that goes for my shows as well as Narcissus'."

"Cute?" the vocalist's eyes flashed for a moment, a playful, attractive smirk slowly spreading across his face. The word cute, when used in relation to anything directly connected to him, had the power to turn the star's mood around when used by one Kimura Kou.

Chuckling, Ryu finished his beer and leaned back in the beanbag, crossing his leg over one knee.

"Not that bad, huh? Well, I'll keep that in mind. I could buy some wigs, or I guess I can always just change it again, if I feel like it...but I'm probably just going to keep in in a cute ponytail, as you put it."

At the mention of Grell, however, Ryuukaze's whole aura seemed to shift.

"Hey...I met you as Grell, so its only natural that I remembered you as the character more than as the person you are...but I can tell you one thing for sure, I like you much more now that I know you outside of work. And that's saying a lot...because I adored you when I met you."

What the vocalist meant was a kind, friendly word. What it came out as, though, was more along the lines of a flirt, if not outright wooing.

All the talk of his life felt far too gloomy all of a sudden and Ryu felt compelled to change the subject.

"Hey...let's not worry about my mid-midlife crisis or whatever...not worrying about fans or trouble...I'd just like to see you smile for a while." he said, watching and laughing as Kou went on about knitting and concerts.

"Annoying? I never thought of it as annoying before. Maybe a little bit, now...but...I think it'll go back to being fun soon enough. I just...I like seeing people having fun, partying and smiling. That's my...it's like my drug, if you will. I need positive energy to charge me up, or something..." he snickered, though it was true. Positivity filled him up, negativity....well, it drained him dry. Probably why he was in the state he was in at this point...

"You just have to make it seem natural. If you say Ko-kun's sick then make sure he stays home and in bed... or at least on the sofa all wrapped up." Akihiko said, acting as if he'd done this millions of times before.

He kind of had... at least as a boy.

Laughing, the young Koyasu couldn't help but be amused by the spinning. When Shou picked the child up and asked about television however, well... Narcissus could only smile. "There's a large television in one of the guest rooms. How about it, Ko-kun? Want to get all warm in bed with some mochi and milk and watch a little anime?"

The musician stood, leading the way from the studio's soundproof room. He completely ignored Izzy and Michi, who seemed to be discussing something near the sound boards, and lead the peacock and his charge up the stairs.

"How about you pick which Mochi you want as a midnight snack, ne?" the musician asked with a wink Ko's way, heading into the kitchen where the box his guests had brought was stashed.

















Sighing, Takagi shook his head. "Well then you're the best person to convince Akihiko to try and talk with the old man. Like I said, I can get him in... but I'll need ample warning. The best time would probably be New Years... security might not be AS tight." the acting Ohayou chairman couldn't help but feel a bit guilty for letting this go on for as long as it had.

Now he had Hideo back... god he'd have to move quickly to make sure Izo didn't know of this sudden change in the spider's ever reaching web.

"I think you'll be better than us all." Yuuji smiled slightly, watching as Akihiko, Shou, and Hideo left the sound studio and headed back upstairs. "But you're right... I need to think about Hideo and what's best for him right now... I'll call Aya-chan tomorrow morning, after we've talked to Shou-san, and see what she thinks."

"Make me a sweater? Aw, well then I'll have to make you.....uh.....some.....coasters." Ryu laughed.

"How about I just write you a song or something!" the vocalist stuck out his tongue, "At least I actually know how to do that. A song for my friend. That shouldn't be too hard. Fair enough trade for a cozy sweater, you think?"

So he was being absolutely silly now, though he meant what he said. He could write a song about Kimura Kou. Something about....strawberries....

"Ah, but I did say MID-mid-life crisis, ya know. But seriously, I'm just being all emo about things."

Shifting from his perch on the bean bag, Ryuukaze leaned forward, his elbow resting on his knee, his chin resting on his fist as though he were analyzing something intensely.

"Just with my company? Really? Well, I guess I'll have to keep coming around, then, to make sure you keep smiling..." the star's eyes met Kou's and held them for a second, his gaze warm and gentle, almost magnetic, as if it could pull one in deep and never let go.

"New Years? I don't...I don't really have any plans...at the moment..." Ryu's gaze dropped, caught off guard. New Years hadn't even crossed his mind since Christmas. With all the terrible things he'd dealt with, he hadn't really been in a holiday frame of mind for a while.