jaiset productions presents
GA RA SU
( s)
-epilogue-
b.
original work, inspiratorie.
armed with an artistic right.
besides, this doesn't make money.
(c) 2007 jaiset productions.
tous droits réservés.
TOKYO, JAPAN
FOUR YEARS LATER
"(And now, ladies and gentlemen, the moment you've all been waiting for, the two rival bands that formed on opposite sides of the globe, but share the same night sky... the famous couple who only meet once a year during this festival of star-crossed lovers, Tanabata, now performing at the same venue for the first time...
"(Live at Budokan, it's Andromeda and Milky Way!)"
The hall exploded into deafening screams. On one side of the stage was a drum set emblazoned with a shooting star wrapped around the words "Milky Way". On the other side was a drum set with the insignia of a galaxy wrapped around the letter A.
The lead singers took their places last, after the drummers, keyboardist, bassists and violin. The Milky Way vocalist's long white boots and miniskirt were practically a trademark at this point, as was her baby blue star-bodied Rosa Hurricane and ever-changing hair color. The industrial piercing in her left ear was no longer a simple rod but a series of short, lightweight silver chains that shimmered as she moved.
The open-shirted Andromeda singer was known for his bright red left-handed Epiphone Casino with its f-hole archtops, and the ball-chain necklace of dog tags he wore around his neck, often with five or six at a time dangling at his chest. His arms were decorated with colorful designs of dragons and constellations, but his most conspicuous tattoo was a simple black one in Chinese above his heart: "xingguang".
The spotlights came on; the singers winked and smiled at each other before grasping their microphone stands. Thanks to the jumbotrons, the audience could see the small diamond ring proudly displayed on the Milky Way singer's left ring finger, and the ornate band of silver on the Andromeda singer's right.
With a loud, resonating chord, the show began.
Milky Way began with a ballad by Andromeda, while Andromeda used one of Milky Way's own songs as a surprisingly fitting countermelody.
The ballad was a song called "Glass". The countermelody was a song called "Starlight".
They built to a startling crescendo, then shook Tokyo with a spectacle of song and sight.
The two bands met up at the old Lexington Queen later that night for drinks. The members of Andromeda had learned enough English while on tour in the U.S. to make up for most of the Milky Way members' horrendous Japanese, but in any case, singers Lucien and Shuu translated for both sides when either ran into problems.
"(This meeting-once-a-year stunt has GOT to get old at some point, don't you think?)" said one of Shuu's old bartender friends to the rock star couple. "(Don't you guys miss each other?)"
"(It's only for one more year, anyway, until Shuu-chan's contract is up,)" said Lucien (now fluent in Japanese), still in her miniskirt, perched on Shuu's lap and sipping a rum and coke. "(Besides, we see each other slightly more often than once a year- like when we 'happen' to have concerts within a few miles of each other.)"
"(But don't tell the fans that,)" said Shuu, grinning.
"(Of course I don't tell them that!)" exclaimed Lucien before realizing the comment was meant for the bartender. "... Oh."
The Andromeda members laughed, and some of the Milky Way members did too, once Shuu translated Lucien's stupidity.
"Honestly, Lucy, how the hell did you get into Harvard?" asked Erica, still in her pink leather drummer's outfit and on her third Asahi. (She'd taken an indefinite leave from law school to tour with the band.) "Actually, no, that acceptance is negated by the fact that you turned them down."
"As I said, Stanford's closer to Tokyo," argued Lucien. "And Harvard was WAY too intense for me."
"Too intense? This from a girl who does three concerts a day and parties like a slut!"
"Hey, look who's talking- -I- don't do that anymore!"
"Yeah," Erica suddenly agreed. "Only Vicky really partied that much, anyway."
Two years earlier, Vicky inexplicably quit Milky Way to attend business school, giving her spot (and miniskirt collection) undisputedly to Lucien, who stopped out of Stanford to sing. Ten had officially taken over as their bassist a few months before- once they found a new manager who could pass the "I can outdrink and outsmoke all the members of the band and still function normally in the morning" test.
Against his father's wishes and all kinds of Monegasque royal traditions, Eli took off from Sciences Po to join Milky Way as their fiddler at about the same time, making their already-growing international popularity skyrocket, and bringing the total of straight men in the band to one. He was at the other end of the bar sipping cognac and apparently charming Shuu's (very female) bartender friend right over.
"Hayai na (He's fast,)" noted Coco from the Andromeda side of the table.
"Hoo yeah," said Rain, draining his pina colada. "(I think it's the Monegasque blood.)"
"I'm glad his fiancée's Italian," Ten added. "Anglophone girls would never be able to handle him."
"I'm glad his fiancée's -hot-," said Erica. "Ugly girls would never be able to handle his flirting."
At the other corner of the club, a young man entered through a side door, ordered a drink without getting carded, and hid in a booth in the shadows, watching the two bands talk and laugh from a safe distance.
Lucien was the first to recognize him. She excused herself to go to the bathroom to get a closer look and convince herself that it wasn't just the booze.
"(Ma-kun? You came!)"
The nineteen-year-old's shoulder-length hair, no longer violet but its usual shade of black, obscured his face in shadow. However, Lucien could tell from the myriad piercings in his ears and by the way he was sitting in his chair and holding his drink that it was him.
Even though Lucien hadn't seen him since she started touring with Milky Way, she still worked with him through e-mail and had seen his face on the Internet and t.v.; he'd become the first Japanese crossover star to have multiplatinum records worldwide in Japanese, English and French. He was a bit taller now, and stubble freckled his chin, but otherwise there was no change from the boy she'd known in high school.
The rock star crossed the club to sit down next to him; Marise smiled and made room in his booth. Lucien gave him a big hug, amplified by drunkenness.
"(What're you doing here alone?)" she said while burying her face in his hair. "(Come join us!)"
Marise hugged her back but didn't reply. Lucien understood that this meant calling Shuu over first, so they chatted for a few minutes, then Lucien returned to the tables where the bands were sitting and currently arguing about existentialism (in drunken English and Japanese). She took Shuu aside and nodded to Marise, who waved in turn.
"Look who I found," she whispered in her lover's ear. Shuu's heart stopped.
"Marise?"
"He's waiting for you."
Shuu gave Lucien a kiss and led her back to their table, then waited until she was sufficiently distracted to cross the floor.
"Hi," said the rust-haired singer, smirking as he slid into the booth. Marise took a large swig of beer and gave him a nervous grin back.
"Hisashiburi (Long time no see.)"
"How've you been?" Shuu inquired as he casually put his dragon-tattooed right arm around the boy. Marise's gaze flickered to the silver band on Shuu's ring finger before returning to his dark grey eyes.
"A little shaken and stirred, but fine. You?"
"A little happier than when you last saw me."
Marise finally smiled a genuine smile.
"I'm glad."
They talked warmly about everything and nothing for what seemed like hours, like time had never passed since they last were face-to-face. The party across the room got louder and louder.
After a while, Shuu stepped out of the booth and extended a hand to Marise, to lead him over to where Lucien and the others were waiting. The boy couldn't help but take his hand and follow.
END of Garasu (Glass), -epilogue-
owari
8:52 AM 4/10/2007