Chapter 25
Yasu
“Shouldn’t they always be practicing as if it’s the real deal?”
I’d been livid when Toshi dragged me to his office when I’d removed him from the practice room. Then he’d had the nerve to tell me that the way we’d been behaving was inappropriate. By that point, I’d had more than enough and called in the reinforcements.
There was something about watching Reiko take charge of a room. She never put up with Toshi’s bullshit, and this time was no exception.
“While they are here, they are to use the space to work through songs. It’s so they don’t forget how to play their older music, especially now that they have a new member. They need to work on their chemistry,” Toshi explained.
“Exactly! And what better way to work on their chemistry than to practice their stage presence. Ryosuke is new. The rest of these guys have been playing together since day one. It’s too much to ask for Ryosuke to just blend in with everything they do.
He needs to see how they work, how their presence is in an actual performance. ”
The two went back and forth—all I could do was sit and watch. It was verbal tennis, a sparring match, a few meows and claws; it could have been a catfight.
My sister was the real manager. The day the label decided to land us with Toshi, they’d made a huge mistake. I was more than glad I’d had the foresight to make it part of our contract that they had to consult her on all things. We’d have been fucked long ago had I not done that.
Toshi finally stood up from behind his desk and approached Reiko.
She’d been pacing the room, flailing her arms wildly as she spoke.
She was nothing if not passionate when it came to matters of the band.
The second he placed his hands on her shoulders, I was lifting out of my chair.
No one touched my sister, especially not greasy record label people who didn’t have a fucking clue what they were actually doing.
“Reiko-san, I get where you’re coming from. I’ll try to keep that in mind in the future. My concern was that the band lacked a level of professionalism that they normally have while in the studio.”
Professionalism? How could he speak of such things, touching my sister that way.
Sure, when Toshi put it that way, it made sense, but he still didn’t need to fucking touch my sister. I’d break his hands off if he didn’t let her go soon. His long fingers looked sickly out of place against the soft pink fabric of the sweater that she wore.
And in true Reiko fashion, the girl knew how to take care of herself. She brushed out of Toshi’s hold and made her way over to me. When her manicured fingers wrapped around my wrist and pulled me to the door, she shot another scathing look over her shoulder.
“I had better not get another call like this. If they want to practice all the fan service, you let them. As long as they aren’t all out fucking each other in the middle of the practice room, I don’t give a damn what they do.”
My face heated, but the dumbstruck look on Toshi’s face had me laughing as Reiko pulled me down the hall.
Once we were finally out of the building, she released me, readjusting her clothes so she didn’t look like she’d just been on some sort of rampage inside the office.
“Are you okay?” she asked, walking down the packed Tokyo sidewalk.
I huffed out a laugh before pulling out my phone, frowning to see there weren’t any missed messages. I’d hoped that at least Itsuki would have checked in to see what happened.
Trying not to focus on the fact that my best friend, or was it lover now, hadn't checked on me. I turned to my sister. “Toshi’s such an asshole most days. I don’t see what the problem is with having a little fun.”
Reiko giggled. “There’s nothing wrong with it. He’s got a stick up his ass about something. If he pulls shit like that again, just call me. I don’t understand the way he wants you to practice. I never have.”
None of us had. It all felt so robotic and plain.
Sure, our live performances were always amazing, but we’d always wondered how much better they could have been had we actually rehearsed everything. Winging it all the time could be chaotic. Sometimes it even threw off a song when someone wasn’t prepared for the other to approach them.
Now my mind was focused on Itsuki and the rest of the band. Had any of them stuck around to practice? Did they leave? How come nobody checked in with me?
“Otouto-chan?” Reiko asked.
I continued to stare at my phone screen instead of walking with her. I had to shake it off, but it was impossible not to focus on it. The questions kept circling over and over again.
As if sensing what I was thinking, Reiko placed her hand over my phone screen, forcing me to look her in the eye. “Just message someone. They’ll tell you what’s going on. There’s no reason to stress over it.”
Of course, that was the logical answer. It didn’t stop me from spiraling.
“Yeah, I could...” God, why was my heart slamming so hard against my rib cage as I typed out the simple words.
Me: What happened?
It took a few minutes, but the bouncing dots to show that Itsuki was responding made me relax just a little.
Itsu-chan: Ryosuke called it. Tatsuki and Riku took off. Ryo and I are at the corner bar.
The corner bar?
That had been my favorite place to go with Itsuki, and he was taking Ryosuke there?
I closed my eyes against the onslaught of jealousy because it didn’t need to be there.
He’d been very clear about what he wanted when it came to the two of us, and that meant that if I wanted a relationship with Itsuki, Ryosuke was part of that as well.
He didn’t seem all that bad, the little I’d gotten to know him, but he was still a stranger. He hadn’t been with us since day one.
“What did he say?”
I snapped my gaze to meet Reiko, who was still standing there patiently waiting.
People on the street bumped past as they kept walking, if I had been in my sister’s shoes, I would have ditched me long ago, but she wasn’t as touch - averse as I was.
The crowded streets were one of my least favorite parts of living in Tokyo.
“They left.” It was a shit answer from me, but how did I tell my sister that I ached to get to the one person who’d had my heart since the beginning and the person I was only just starting to tolerate. Oh, and that I’d had sex with both of them. At the same time.
Okay, yeah, there were some things we didn’t need to share.
She rolled her eyes. “And where did they go?”
I huffed, shoving my phone into my pocket. “Tatsu and Riku? Fuck knows, but it sounds like Itsuki and Ryosuke went to the corner bar.”
She nodded. “So why don’t you join them?”
That was the question of the century.
Because I hadn’t been outright asked to join them? But maybe it was implied that I would meet up with them. The longer I stood there and thought about it, Reiko grew irritated, shifting back and forth. As much as she cared, she eventually lost her patience.
“Just go, Otouto. The worst that happens is that they don’t want you there and ask you to leave. Since Itsuki is your best friend, I don’t think that’s what will happen.”
I nodded at her explanation, took a deep breath, and gave her a gentle hug.
Her smile was bright as we parted ways. My sister was my motherfucking rock, and I was beyond blessed to have her in our corner.