The look in her eyes. Can you honestly resist. Knowing the answer? Sincerity in Your Eyes Makoto sighed when a beam of sunlight finally filtered through the blinds of her windows and shone directly over her closed eyelids. She rolled over to her side with every intention of sleeping to her heart's content and thus, missing another day of school. Her third day, that is... She didn't need to worry about parents barging in her room and demand why she was absent this often. She lived alone in an apartment she inherited from her "Bancho." Some inheritance... It was apparent that the former tenant did not take good care of this apartment. There were cracks on parts of the wall where the dirty-white wallpaper did not cover. There were scratches on the wooden floor and a discoloration where Makoto had studiously scrubbed unknown stains away or where she poured lye over it. The only window to her room was stuck half-open, thus the blinds. At least the ceiling was clean and sturdy enough. And she had her own bathroom and a "balcony" of some sorts (actually, it was more like a fire escape than anything). It was a relatively small apartment, that's why the young girl could not afford the luxury of filling it up with decorations that would make her home feel more like home. But even if she could, she still could not afford to spend her meager savings on impractical things. Paying her tuition was hard enough. The thought of school started to depress her. She hated Juuban. She hated the situation Nishikawa and the other bullies had forced on her. Makoto had thought she could leave such things behind when she transferred here to Minato. She was obviously mistaken. No one can run from their pasts... but she could sleep it all away for a day. But alas, it was not to be-- especially when she had annoying neighbors who insist on mothering her. Or acting as big sisters... or something like that. "Wakey, wakey Mako-chaaaaaaan!" Seiya sang loudly into her ear. "You're missing school again?" Taiki asked dispassionately as she and Yaten walked inside the room after Seiya. If Makoto would open her eyes she would see that the cross-dressing siblings were exchanging mischievous looks. "You know what we must do, sisters." The brunette knew all too well what that meant. She immediately scrambled out of bed, barely missing Seiya, Taiki and Yaten, as they cannonballed themselves onto Makoto's bed. "Are you crazy!" Makoto panted from her place on the floor-- her green pajamas and her long hair were askew from her hasty leap. "You guys nearly broke my neck last time you did that!" "I see a definite improvement in her time and response." Taiki concluded breezily as she turned to her sisters and ignored the glare that Makoto was aiming her way. "She actually managed to get out of bed this time." Yaten added with a smirk. "But she still fell on her ass." Seiya's eyes were closed, her arms across her chest, as she pondered this unfortunate fact. "We must do it again tomorrow." "Like hell..." Makoto grumbled crankily and stood up. She placed her hands on her hips and eyed the trio of grinning women sitting comfortably on her bed. "Why are you guys wearing the penguin suits? I thought male hosts do their work at night?" Seiya laughed at that as she looked down at her penguin suit. "We're going to audition as back-up singers for the Hospital Benefit today," she explained. "And..." "And you're here for your freebie, right?" Makoto cut in and crossed her arms defiantly. "Couldn't you guys just eat out? I'm running low on funds here and with all of you coming here everyday to leech off of me is just... Or better yet, have your so-called girlfriends cook something for you!" "Don't be so stingy! Sheesh." Yaten exclaimed. "We, like, help you pay the rent too!" "With this!" Makoto pulled a drawer out of her study desk to reveal the wrinkled scraps of paper that had I.O.U. written on each of them. "You earn more than enough with your jobs at night. So cough up the dough before I feed you!" She knew it was hopeless no matter how much she demanded though. The problem with these girls is that they didn't know how to keep their money in their pockets. Makoto released an exasperated breath as she waited for their answer. "We'll get famous first before paying it all back!" The platinum-blonde retorted defensively. "We ARE going to pay it back. In fact, we might pay it all back when we make this audition. So don't be such an uptight bi--" Taiki immediately clamped a hand over her younger sister's mouth before the damage could be done. Really... She could not put these two together in the same room and expect them to play nice. "This is the last time, Mako-chan." Seiya pleaded, "We didn't eat lunch and supper yesterday and we're really hungry. And you know how much we love your cooking." She paused to gauge her friend's reaction and saw that the stony expression on her face didn't even crack. It was time for some serious firepower... She exchanged furtive glances with her sisters before they all got off the bed and knelt in front of Makoto. "Please oh please Mako-chama!" They begged simultaneously and blinked their tear-filled eyes rapidly. Seiya decided to up the ante and started to claw at the other girl's pants weakly. "We're sooooooo hungry." Makoto stared down at them in disbelief before bursting out in laughter-- the first one in three days. "Get up you bozos. You look ridiculous." She said after the laughter died down to mere chuckling. She looked down at them fondly. What would she do without them? She would probably still be brooding over every crap that's been happening to her as of late. "What do you guys want to eat anyway?" "I want Okonomiyaki!" Yaten announced. "This early in the morning?" Taiki gawked at her. "Shut up, it's what I want." "Of all the rude things...!" "I want pickled rice and fish. No wait... I want an American breakfast! Fried bacon and eggs to be exact... No wait, I want bacon and pickled rice instead. No, no! That's weird. I want..." Seiya rattled off indecisively. 'On second thought,' Makoto sighed, 'my life would be a whole lot less complicated without these three.' She began to move out of her room and towards her little makeshift kitchen-slash-dining room. The others exchanged victorious grins before getting up to follow her. "I'm going to make you all pancakes." She glanced at the sisters to see them about to protest then forcefully added, "PERIOD." And everyone immediately shut their mouths. "Now make yourselves some juice or coffee and grab a seat." The sisters smiled bemusedly at Makoto's back before moving to prepare their drinks as they were told. When they were in her territory-- her kitchen to be precise, the younger girl always seemed to be in full mother-hen mode, or a bossy wife as Seiya often teased. Of course, outside this, the roles were definitely reversed. Yaten found herself thinking back to the time when they first knew about Makoto. The apartment their friend was living in now used to belong to someone else... an odd guy, who looked like he came out of one of those cheesy gangster movies, who insisted that everyone call him Bancho. One night, Bancho invited them all to his place for his "good bye party." Of course Yaten couldn't care less if the weirdo left. But she went anyway. They learned that Bancho was going back to his hometown in Okinawa to take over his father's fishing business. He lamented over leaving his gang behind especially his "right-hand man" named Makoto. It was clear that Bancho cared a great deal for this Makoto guy. Of course, Yaten, who didn't realize Makoto was actually a girl back then, had thought, 'This guy's a fag?' The "deep brotherly love that was rare in modern gangsters" Bancho had loved to brag about suddenly took on a whole new meaning for Yaten. With a shiver, she banished the horrifying thoughts immediately. By the end of the night, when everyone was sufficiently buzzed with alcohol, Bancho made them all promise to watch out for Makoto. She and her sisters just shrugged and muttered noncommittal 'okays.' The next day, Bancho left. The following day after that they finally met her. It was early in the morning, when Yaten, Taiki and Seiya came back from their night jobs. They saw a girl hunched outside the closed door of Bancho's apartment, fast asleep. Taiki had frowned and approached her first. She gently shook the other awake. When the girl looked up with tired and empty eyes, Yaten felt a pang of sympathy. "Are you Makoto?" Taiki had asked. "Yes..." The stranger had answered huskily. And they had been friends ever since. 'Who knew...' Yaten thought, 'My sisters and I found it easy to fulfill our promise to Bancho after all.' "Say Mako-chan..." Taiki began thoughtfully as she, along with the others, watched their friend putter about in the small kitchen. "You're not going to school anytime soon, right? Like today maybe?" "Nope." The brunette answered as she started to break the eggs over the bowl. "Good!" Yaten clapped her hands together decisively. "You're coming with us to the auditions." Taiki and Seiya seemed surprised that she had been the one to offer first. Yaten was not known to be openly solicitous, especially to Makoto. But they smiled and nodded when the brunette paused and seemed to be considering it. "And what? Watch all the blood dribble out of everyone's ears when you sing?" Makoto teased. "No thanks." "Ha ha..." The shorter girl sneered, paused, then quietly she added, "Seriously, we want you to be there... for um... support." This seemed to catch the brunette off-guard and she had to look at Yaten to see if she heard wrong. When the other girl looked back at her intensely, Makoto realized that her friend had indeed said what she thought she said. "Sure." Makoto shrugged nonchalantly and turned back around to continue preparing the pancakes. "I'll come with you guys. Just don't expect me not to take my hands off my ears when you go up on stage." "Awesome!" Seiya looked pleased. "We have another penguin suit already prepared for you back in our flat." "Ooooohhhhh no!" Makoto whirled around again and pointed the egg beater at them threateningly. "We are NOT going as the queer quadruplets! I refuse! On the other hand... feel free to look like clones, but you're not making me wear it!" "But Mako-chaaaaan!" Seiya whined. "We need to look united! Didn't Bancho make the gang dress all alike? 'United we stand, divided we fall.' That way, our circle of support will never be broken!" The younger girl blushed and shook her head adamantly. "That was a long time ago! I was young and stupid! Besides, I'm not going to be up there singing with you guys. I don't HAVE to look like you." "Please Mako-chan?" "No!" "Pleeeeeeeeeeease Mako-chama?" "Never!" The auditions were being held in the Kusanagi Hotel in Roppongi. Roppongi was famous for being one of the most prominent nightclub districts in Japan. It was the district that never sleeps. It was also a place where sinful pleasures can be fulfilled. So it was of no surprise as to why one would see foreigners everywhere. It was one of the best tourist spots in Minato. But of course, the Japanese still outnumbered them. Minako's mother had been brilliant and shrewd enough to secure a place in the heart of this "paradise" to build one of her biggest hotels which, was now one of the most popular hotels in Roppongi. Of course, she forbid Minako from coming to this place, often thinking that the influence of the district's sleazy yet sophisticated atmosphere would corrupt her daughter even further. So it was because of this reason that Minako would often choose Roppongi's Kusanagi Hotel to hold auditions. It was a good excuse to stay overnight, short auditions notwithstanding. "I don't see why we have to have new back-up singers, Minako-chan." Michiru whispered to the blonde from her seat beside her. They were inside one of Kusanagi's function rooms. It was one of the smallest ones since only she, Minako and the song director named Katsuhiko were the only people who would not be able to leave the room any time soon. They had a makeshift stage set up against one of the walls in front of the judges. There was a microphone in the center. All in all, it was really just an ordinary setting for an audition. The real chaos, however, was outside the room where all the hopeful and antsy singers stood in line, waiting. Minako did not answer Michiru and pretended to listen to a duo of dorky-looking guys sing their hearts out. They weren't bad... if only they just took better care of their appearance. The pop star concluded that they simply lacked the Star quality they needed to be a part of Aino Minako's crew. Even back-up singers were scrutinized by the public. This was the kind of business that was meticulous in choosing the best overall appearance and performance of their Stars for the fans. "Oh my god... You didn't." Michiru gasped beside her. The blonde was finally forced to focus on her manager when the other woman firmly shook her shoulder. "You didn't..." She repeated, hoping against hope that her Talent didn't cross the line yet again. Minako shrugged helplessly. "He was cute..." "Minako!" Michiru exclaimed in exasperation causing the startled singers on stage to stop singing. "This is the second time!" "There are lots of great back-up singers out there." The blonde offered meekly. "That's not the point!" Michiru groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. She was starting to get a headache. "You shouldn't form relationships with your co-workers if you have no intention of taking them seriously! And what if the brothers left you at the last minute? The Benefit would've been a disaster!" "But they didn't and we're looking for more reliable singers right now." "Whatever." Michiru sighed in resignation. Sometimes she wanted to throttle the other girl. She was the most irresponsible, the flightiest person she had ever met. Her boss was right when he warned her that she would have her hands full with this girl. It was a good thing for Minako that Michiru wasn't the type to give up on the job that easily. And she was lucky Minako seemed likeable when she wasn't acting like such a spoiled brat. "What happened to them?" Katsuhiko, who had been silent throughout the exchange, suddenly leaned forward curiously. The eavesdropping singers did the same. "None of your business!" "You don't want to know." The women snapped at the same time. "Next!" Minako suddenly yelled, forgoing politeness as she waved the boys away. Her mood was starting to sour. Dejected, the participants left. They were replaced by three of the most beautiful men the pop star had ever seen. Minako knew she was drooling, oh it was shameless... But she couldn't help it. "Hello, I'm Kou Seiya." The black-haired youth on the center boldly announced on the microphone. "This is Kou Yaten and Kou Taiki. We are also known as the Three Lights." There was no gushing about how fortunate they were to be graced by her presence, and there was no hint of nervousness... Minako liked them already. Michiru's face was expressionless when she saw the dreamy look on her Star's face. Then out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of another figure a little behind her to the side. This one was dressed similarly in the same tuxedo as the Three Lights were wearing. He was scowling and had his arms crossed in front of his chest. At least... she assumed it was a 'he.' He was so androgynous. "Excuse me," she called out, "aren't you going up on stage?" "I'm not singing..." Came the grumbled answer. "I'm here to cheer them on." Though the way this boy said it made it sound like he was announcing his own death penalty. The blonde tore her eyes away from the Three Lights to look at what her manager was fussing about. When her curious blue eyes met penetrating green, she gasped. The sensation those eyes evoked in her felt so strong it sent chills down her spine. Then it was broken when Michiru waved a hand in front of her face and called her name. It felt like seconds... short and abrupt seconds. But the truth was, she had been staring at this boy for longer than it was appropriate. She finally noticed the odd look that everyone was giving her and felt her blood rush to her face. "Um... Y-you can proceed." She told the Three Lights and gave them a charming smile to cover up her embarrassment. They began to sing, and their voices blended together perfectly. Michiru stood up. Minako watched her short and discreet journey towards the mysterious boy in surreptitious glances, only paying half-attention to the singers in front of them, who, Minako had to admit, were incredible! Michiru and the stranger whispered furiously for a moment before they finally looked like they had come to an agreement. The aqua-haired woman returned to her seat while the boy quietly walked out of the room. Minako wanted to cry out, to call him back and demand for his name. But she had a job to do first. She impatiently waited for the Three Lights to finish, firmly announced them as "perfect back-up singers" and congratulated them, before running out of the door. There was a dumbfounded stillness in the function room for a moment before Seiya and Yaten cheered and hugged each other while Michiru and Taiki exchanged raised eyebrows. Katsuhiko simply sat there, confused as heck, but happy that the audition was finally done and over with. Minako finally found him at the lobby, standing in front of a vending machine, his back turned to her. She hesitated. It did not occur to her before that she could've just asked the Three Lights what their companion's name was. But the overwhelming need to be near him was too powerful to resist. She was confused. Why did she feel this strongly about this stranger? 'Is this love at first sight?' She shook her head at THAT preposterous thought. 'This is not a movie, Minako.' She scolded herself. 'This is pathetic... I should just leave.' And yet, she could not help but wonder at these curious feelings. It wasn't love... It couldn't be love... She did not feel any love or even like for him. How could she? She hardly knew him. It felt more like a connection... a feeling of meeting a kindred spirit for the first time. A kindred spirit... The idea made her feel strangely relieved-- the kind she could only feel on stage or with her best friend-- the only two things that gave her solace from her troubled world of business and neglect. She quietly approached the boy, stopping just a few inches behind him. She watched him for a while. He did not seem to notice her; too engrossed was he at trying to decide which candy bar to get. She finally leaned slightly to the side to look at his face. He was cute, but not overly good-looking like the Three Lights she had been drooling over. "Excuse me..." He jumped, and clutched at his chest in fright. "Kami!" He exclaimed before frowning down at her. "You scared the heck out of me!" Minako did not answer at first and simply smiled at him. It took a moment for the recognition to light his eyes and when it did, he stepped back warily. The pop star was pleased. He obviously and finally realized who it was that was standing in front of him. "Um... What do you want?" "Your name," she replied sweetly before tilting her head at him cutely. No one could resist Aino Minako when she was at her cutest. But the boy frowned, and there was a flash of irritation in his face before it was replaced by a mask of forced politeness. "I'm sorry... But I don't give out my name to strangers." 'What?' Didn't this guy knew who she was? Minako was astonished but the sweet smile on her face remained unchanged as she offered her hand for a handshake. "Oh! I'm sorry. The name's Aino Minako." "Pleased to meet you Aino Minako-san..." The boy replied politely and shook her hand briefly. He did not say anything further. Minako was beginning to feel awkward as they both stared at each other. She was the first to look down however, feeling chagrined at the obvious dislike the other was emitting despite his respectful facade. She re-evaluated the scene all over again and keenly realized how her coyness might be misinterpreted as rudeness by this boy. She had to change her strategy. "I'm sorry," she mumbled to her feet, "can we start over?" She took a deep breath before looking up at the boy shyly and offered her hand again. "Hi, my name is Aino Minako. Can I be your friend?" This time, there was real warmth in the other's eyes and he gently clasped her hand again. "I'm Kino Makoto." He told her. "And that depends." "Depends on what?" Minako could not help but feel her stomach tighten with anticipation. What could she do to get this guy to like her? "It depends on what you think of my friends' awful singing voices." The reply was so unexpected the blonde had to laugh out loud. "They're not awful. In fact, they're my new back-up singers now. They have wonderful voices." "Heh..." Makoto's nose crinkled as he made a face. "You wouldn't say that if you heard them practicing day in and day out, Aino-san. Trust me, I'm growing deaf from listening to them." Of course he was grinning when he said this to show that he was only kidding around. Suddenly a noise caught both of their attentions and they turned around to see the Three Lights hurrying towards them. "Oooooooi! Mako-chan! We made it, we made it!" Yaten yelled out exuberantly. Minako stepped aside as Seiya and Yaten gathered Makoto in their arms for a fierce group hug. Taiki approached them at a mellower pace and thus, was the first of the three siblings to notice the blonde's presence. "Good afternoon Aino-sempai." He greeted her. "Hi." Minako greeted back. Before she could open her mouth to speak, she heard someone call her name. "Minako-chan!" Michiru briskly walked towards her and dragged her away from the others. "What kind of stunt did you just pull? You didn't even wait for the rest of us to evaluate them." She told Minako harshly. "But they were great singers weren't they?" The other girl defended and glared back at her manager. "Don't make such a big deal about it." Michiru took a deep breath before expelling it slowly and calmly. She pursed her lips in disapproval before quietly relenting, "Fine, Minako-chan. They were good. But don't make hasty decisions like that without our feedback again." "Of course Kaioh-san..." Minako quirked her lips slightly, relieved to be let off the hook. "Now let's go back and you can personally thank the rest of the people for coming, and bid them good bye." The older woman went on. Minako wanted to refuse, but she was not stupid enough to push her luck. Her manager was usually a reserved and controlled woman, and she was slow to anger. But when she did get angry... let's just say it wasn't an experience Minako wanted to repeat. "Okay..." She answered compliantly before following Michiru back to the function room. She glanced at Makoto one last time to see that he was being dragged away by the others with every intention to celebrate. Their eyes met and they both smiled sadly, feeling oddly bereft to see the other leaving. There was a minute of tension-filled silence before Yaten could not keep it in anymore and whirled around to stare at Makoto. The other girls behind her all came to an abrupt halt, and looked down at her curiously. "What... was... that?" "What?" Makoto snapped back and shifted her eyes away from the shorter girl's knowing scrutiny. "Yeeeeah... Hey what was that all about?" Seiya, like Yaten, finally gave in to her needling curiosity and asked. She swung an arm around Makoto's shoulder in an obnoxious gesture of over familiarity. "What was WHAT about?" The brunette continued to play ignorant and shrugged Seiya's arm away before walking ahead of them. "Oh no... Don't you run away missy!" Yaten called out and walked after her. "You and Miss Aino were making googly eyes at each other!" "You're delusional..." Makoto barked out in laugher, but her cheeks started to redden at the implication. She stuffed her hands in her pockets and continued to storm forward. 'What the heck is this? I'm not LIKE that.' Seiya and Taiki looked at each other before running after the girls. "Hey, it's okay Mako-chan." Taiki tried to soothe. "We understand." "Understand what?" Makoto exclaimed, slowing down to a stop once more and looked at the sisters in exasperation. "There's nothing to understand! You guys are obviously reading too much into things!" 'Are we?' Taiki wanted to say but shrugged instead, she didn't want their friend to alienate them if they kept teasing and prodding her like this. Like Makoto, she valued her privacy and understood her reticence very well. But she had been wondering about what the other girl meant by her 'queer quadruplets' comment this morning. But she figured she could talk to Makoto about it only when the time was right. "Alright, alright, forget it." She said, cutting in before the others could speak, "This is not the time to be picking on Mako-chan. We, ladies, are supposed to be celebrating." "Yeah!" Seiya and Yaten chorused, the current issue momentarily forgotten. Makoto looked at her gratefully and nodded. They started walking again. The brunette was glad that the conversation was over. She had been disturbed by the whole thing more than she cared to admit. But she didn't want to talk or even think about it. 'There's nothing to think about.' She concluded with a small huff. 'Nothing at all...' Author's Note+ Ah yeah... Before anyone flames me for exaggerating Minako's negative aspects-- let me explain by saying that I did this deliberately for an effective and realistic character development that you will witness in future chapters. It's all planned out in my head-- everything. So um... You don't have to worry about me doing any characters here any injustice. My description of Roppongi is as accurate as my reading about it in the encyclopedia. I haven't really been there yet... Kusanagi Hotel is obviously a figment of my imagination. The "-chama" suffix is a mix of -sama and -chan. It means you are calling someone with affection and respect-- it is usually meant to be humorous. "Bancho" is a title that is usually referred to a gang leader. And you must be wondering why Taiki called Minako 'sempai.' Well... Since the Lights are working for Minako now, it is only appropriate to call her sempai. It is used addressed to someone who is higher in the school or (in the Light's case) business hierarchy. Okonomiyaki is a kind of Japanese pancake or pizza where the key ingredients are the sauce, the meat, the greens (usually the cabbage), the egg omelet-thingy and the Yakisoba (fried noodles). ... I really need a beta-reader... (weeps) (EDITED) Erm... Uh... I just noticed this morning when I re-read this chapter that I posted the unedited version. (fidgets in embarrassment) This is the edited chapter. I'm really sorry everyone. The only major change I put here was the part when Minako asked Makoto to be her friend again. Sorry for the inconvenience.
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