5WIRL + Wanderer COLLAB!!!

Chapter 3

  "We should talk..."
  Those were the firsts words out of Kunikuzushi's mouth when Kazuha stepped into the training room.
  "Oh," Kazuha hesitated, "about the photos..."
  Kunikuzushi nodded, "Heizou said that we should make the call on wether or not to take them down and make a statement."
  "Okay," Kazuha agreed.
  "But it has gotten more complicated overnight," Kunikuzushi folded his arms.
  Heizou giggled, "yeah, people have starting to think you're dating~"
  Kazuha blinked, "hm?! Just- just from a few photos?..." He was mortified, yet... oddly calm again... He wasn't sure how this made him feel... "And idols can't date anyways..."
  Kunikuzushi sighed, sounding a bit annoyed, "I personally don't care what the public thinks about it. They never listen anyways."
  "What about you, Kazuha?" Heizou asked expectantly.
  Kazuha paused to think. "Well... I think we should make the collaboration public, but I'd rather not have spoilers for the live floating around."
  Heizou nodded, "I thought so, too!"
  "Can we try to keep it quiet?" Kazuha asked, "we've already got enough to deal with..."
  "Of course! I'll get Sucrose on it right away," he started quickly tapping on his phone screen.
  Kazuha let out a relieved sigh. Finally, that issue was resolved.
  Kunikuzushi leaned his elbow against the table he was sitting at, "Xiao and Venti said they needed you earlier."
  Kazuha smiled nervously, "you guys keep getting here early without letting me know..."
  Kunikuzushi blew air out of his nose, "I know that feeling."
  Kazuha felt better. Just the idea that Kunikuzushi understood him and shared an experience made him feel warmer inside and set his heart beating faster.
  But he also felt incredibly stupid that his heart acted this way! It was hardly anything and his insides were being dramatic! What was he?! A little kid again?!
  He made his way over to the two green haired boys and asked what they needed.
  "We want to start working on the vocals today if we can," Xiao explained, "Venti and I can't do the rest of the music until we know what all our voices sound like together. Since it's your song, we wanted to sample your voice first and work from there. This should also give Aether and Heizou some time to get Kuni acclimated to our style."
  "Oh, sure," Kazuha nodded.
  "To the recording room!" Venti stood up and marched the three of them over to the adjoining sound room.
  This room had two sides and looked like an interrogation room because of the glass separating the recorders from the recordees.
  Venti and Kazuha entered the microphone riddled side and started plugging things in while Xiao seated himself at the sound board and got everything running.
  Venti and Kazuha set out the music sheets on stands and put on headphones. Xiao donned his own headset and flicked a few more switches before giving them a thumbs up.
  Venti giggled, "this song has a lot of long and drawn out notes, you're really trying to push us with this one, ehehe~"
  Kazuha smiled, "I figure we need a little challenge once in a while. Besides, I know we can do it if we just try."
  Venti laughed, "I bet Kuni will have no trouble at all, too! He's not as soft-spoken as you, but he sure is quiet! Ooh! Maybe we should play a team building game later!!!"
  Kazuha chuckled, "I'm sure Heizou has plenty of things like that planned for us already."
  "Yeah, probably!" Venti fluffed his pages, "ready when you are!"
  And thus, Venti and Kazuha went about singing, tweaking the lyrics and flow of the song, and accounting for everyone's specific lines.
  It took a lot longer than they expected. A few hours had gone by and the other group of three had joined Xiao in the recording booth.
  Heizou and Aether were helping Xiao by taking lots of notes. And I mean LOTS of notes. Kunikuzushi ducked out of the room soon after entering, though Kazuha didn't see him leave.
  Kazuha wasn't all that self conscious about singing in front of Kunikuzushi. Singing was something he enjoyed and something he was naturally good at. Well, they were *all* good singers. They were idols after all. Kazuha had always felt most comfortable when he was singing...
  This song also brought the funny thought of his cat playing around with him. It made him smile and they had to re-record the same part several times.
  "Just imagine when we record this together! We'll all be laughing, then!" Venti had said, "your laughter is so contagious!"
  "Is it really?" Kazuha giggled.
  "Yeah! Now that I think of it, we haven't seen Kuni laugh, right? I wonder if he has a super funny laugh!"
  Kazuha nervously looked through the glass to the other side only to find that Kunikuzushi wasn't there, "I don't know..."
  "Well! Back to recording! We're gonna need to go get drinks after this or something!"
  After about another hour-ish, Xiao was satisfied with what he had collected and started turning stuff off.
  Then Kunikuzushi entered back in. "Oh, are you guys finished?"
  Xiao looked up, "not anymore. I want a small sample of your voice, too, since we're already in here."
  "Alright, sure," he pushed open the door to where Kazuha and Venti were cleaning up.
  "Did Xiao force you in here?!" Venti laughed.
  Kunikuzushi smiled, "no, he asked me nicely."
  "Here! Have my spot so we don't have to clean anything else," Venti pushed him up to the microphone and stand.
  "Uhm, thanks..." Kunikuzushi put the headphones over his ears.
  To put it nicely, Kazuha was very eager to hear Kunikuzushi sing from up close like this. He'd never been to any of HARBINGERS' lives so this would be a first for him. He was honestly excited, he even had to force himself to consciously focus on putting his papers in order.
  Venti pointed at the sheet music, "he probably wants this part. It's pretty easy to read, but let me know if you have any questions!"
  Kunikuzushi nodded, then looked through the glass, "should I just... go for it?"
  Xiao nodded and started clicking buttons again.
  Kunikuzushi shrugged, "alright," and took a deep breath.
  Of course, Kazuha had heard many many people sing before. He had always thought that everyone had their own little magic to it, and Kunikuzushi was no exception.
  Kazuha couldn't keep a stupid smile from spreading across his face. Though Kunikuzushi had only read the lyrics a couple of times, he sang with feeling and conviction. It was only two short verses, but it was the whole world to Kazuha.
  Venti clapped, "nice! Now we can finish cleaning!" He looked at his watch, "oh, let's all go to dinner!"
  Xiao rolled his eyes as he started turning things off again.
  Venti quickly put things away and dashed out to go tell everyone his plans without even asking the three people he had left behind.
  Kazuha chuckled as he turned off the microphones and hung up his headset. "Don't let him pressure you into anything. He's just really excitable sometimes."
  Kunikuzushi nodded, "I can tell," and also hung up his headset.
  "Do you need any help?" Kazuha asked Xiao as he went through the door.
  "Nope," he said dismissively.
  "Alright," Kazuha shrugged as he and Kunikuzushi exited back into the training room.
  "What about you guys?!" Venti pounced on them with his question.
  "Uhm?" Kazuha looked at Heizou and Aether for help.
  "Come on! Let's all go out! It'll be like a little celebration feast!" Venti held his hands out.
  "Oh," Kazuha smiled, "sorry, but I've already got plans..."
  Venti frowned, "mhm, sure you do." He tuned to Kunikuzushi, "what about you?!"
  Kunikuzushi paused, "uh, sure, what time?"
  "Uhmmmm," Venti glanced at his watch again, "how about in an hour?! That gives us all time to go home and do whatever we need beforehand!"
  "Sounds good to me," Kunikuzushi nodded.
  "Yes! Kazuha, are you sure you can't?!"
  "Yeah, sorry," he held his hand out in apology.
  Venti pouted, "I'm going to bite your hand."
  Kazuha quickly pulled his hand back and Kunikuzushi snorted at the exchange.
  Heizou, Aether, Venti, and Xiao all quickly left after cleaning up.
  "Come on," Kunikuzushi sighed heavily.
  "What?" Kazuha looked up at him nervously from where he was fetching his backpack.
  Kunikuzushi gestured to the door leading to the balcony, "I think I've earned a little more honesty than you're giving." He headed outside.
  Kazuha paused for a long moment as he stared at the door. He pulled his backpack onto one arm and stepped out.
  "I don't... understand..." Kazuha said quietly, "I haven't lied to you about anything."
  Kunikuzushi leaned back against the railing, "not directly. We both know you don't have any plans. So why did you refuse?"
  Kazuha knew he was a bad liar... but nobody seemed to care that he didn't accept the invitation...
  Kazuha slowly set his backpack on the ground and braced his hands on the rails. "I'm not sure what to say..."
  Kunikuzushi folded his arms, "you don't owe me anything. In fact, I owe you for not telling on me."
  Kazuha shook his head, "no... I don't want you to feel like you owe me anything..."
  "Then tell me."
  "Why do you want to know?" The question came out before Kazuha even thought to speak it.
  Kunikuzushi was shocked by the sudden seriousness as well, it seemed. He took a moment of silence to think. "Is it because of me?"
  Kazuha blinked, "what? No. Nonono! Why would you think that? I- I rejected before you gave your answer!"
  Kunikuzushi looked at the door, "I just wanted to know."
  "But... why would it be because of you?..."
  "Because of those photos," Kunikuzushi explained, "I thought that maybe it made you uncomfortable..."
  Kazuha smiled, "not at all. I don't mind, I was more worried about how it made you feel."
  Kunikuzushi blew air out of his nose, "it seems we both had the same idea."
  "Yeah," Kazuha chuckled, "it seems we did..."
  "Then, if it really isn't because of me, what is the real reason?" He looked back over at Kazuha.
  The poet hesitated once again. He forced a nervous smile, "well..."
  "Don't look at me like that," Kunikuzushi grimaced, "it's got fake written all over it."
  "Ah, you saw right through me before I even said a word..." Kazuha closed his eyes, "impressive..."
  Kunikuzushi shook his head, "let me tell you, everyone in HARBINGERS is a liar. You learn how to tell after you're around people like that for long enough."
  Kazuha wanted to ask for a bit more information than that, but didn't get the chance.
  "If you're going to tell me anything, make it the truth," Kunikuzushi turned to face him.
  Kazuha's eyes drifted to the flickering lights in the scenery. He didn't want Kunikuzushi to look at him with such a stern expression...
  He took a deep breath, "the truth is... I gain weight very easily, so I have to watch what I eat... Going out makes things complicated and everyone always says I should eat more..."
  Kunikuzushi seemed to be holding back from saying something.
  "Well, there it is: the truth. It's underwhelming, isn't it?..." Kazuha slowly looked back at him.
  "Then why'd you drink the tea yesterday?" Kunikuzushi flipped the conversation around again.
  Kazuha blinked, "huh? Oh, uh, that was a gift, I didn't want to be rude... And- you didn't touch your drink at all, why is that?"
  "That isn't important. Even if it was a gift, if it causes problems for you then you shouldn't have excepted it. Now that just makes me feel bad for forcing it onto you."
  "No, no. Don't feel bad! You didn't force anything! It really isn't a problem, it wasn't even that much sugar," Kazuha hastily reasoned.
  Kunikuzushi clicked his tongue, "just don't do that again."
  Kazuha blinked, "uh..." then quickly cleared his throat. He felt his face was incredibly warm right then. "Why didn't you drink yours?..."
  Kunikuzushi frowned, "I already felt like throwing up enough, I didn't want to make it any worse."
  Kazuha was a bit shocked, "what? Did meeting us make you that nervous?..."
  Kunikuzushi sighed in annoyance, "yes. So what? It doesn't matter anymore."
  "... were the other members of HARBINGERS really so awful to you?..."
  Kunikuzushi folded his arms tightly, leaning his back on the railing again.
  Kazuha wasn't sure what to say. Would anything he said even help?... He opted for a general statement to try and change the subject. "I didn't think our unit looked so intimidating..."
  Kunikuzushi snorted, "hardly. You all seemed like a group of children in your lives. You're always so involved with your fans... but I guess that's a good thing..."
  "But we still made you nervous?..."
  Kunikuzushi sighed tiredly, "I haven't worked with other people in half a year."
  "Right, but-" Kazuha was suddenly struck with a thought. "Does that mean you've been writing and composing all your songs by yourself?"
  "Yes..." Kunikuzushi was being very avoidant. He was avoiding looking at Kazuha and he was avoiding talking about this.
  Did that mean that all those sad and painful words Kunikuzushi had been singing were all how he really felt?... Kazuha felt his heart breaking for Kunikuzushi. He wanted to just hold him and make all his problems go away so he wouldn't have to feel that way anymore.
  But he couldn't do that! That was too much! They'd hardly just met! Kazuha wasn't close enough to console him that way.
  "I'm sorry..." Kazuha offered quietly.
  "What are you apologizing for? It wasn't even that much work." He frowned.
  Kazuha pursed his lips, "... if we make you nervous why did you agree to go?..."
  "I need to get out more, and... a distraction is always nice..." he twisted around, putting one hand on the rails and looking out into the late afternoon.
  Kazuha smiled. Kunikuzushi looked picture perfect no matter where he was... Kazuha thought that if he were a photographer, he would never take pictures of anything else...
  "What are you thinking about, now?" Kazuha asked as he leaned his elbows on the rails and put his chin in his hands. He was just taking it all in and appreciating the view.
  "Mm, firstly, about how my manager is going to scream when she finds out I've made plans. She's always pressuring me to go places," he shook his head. "I don't think she understands how nice it can be to just sit down and stay still for a minute... She's such a busy woman, I could never be a manager."
  Kazuha smiled, "I understand... I don't think our managers get enough credit for all they do. We'd really be nowhere without them.
  Kunikuzushi nodded, "Miko had to pull some strings to get your company to agree to the collaboration. She never mentioned why it was so difficult, though..."
  "That doesn't make much sense... you're a top idol and our company is small, they should be jumping at the opportunity," Kazuha furrowed his brows.
  Kunikuzushi sighed as he turned to face the door again, "doesn't matter much now that we're already doing it."
  Kazuha agreed, "but it makes me curious..."
  "So, what are you doing instead of going out with the rest of us?" Kunikuzushi asked.
  "Going home to hug my cat and to get teased by my roommate no doubt," Kazuha sighed, chuckling just a little bit.
  "Oh? You have a roommate?"
  Kazuha nodded, "don't get me wrong, she's amazing and I love her. She just... really enjoys teasing people, haha. I don't know how her girlfriend handles her all the time."
  Kunikuzushi smiled, "believe it or not my manager is quite the tease as well. Thankfully, she's been rather lenient on me because of how busy she's been. And, double thankfully, she doesn't live with me."
  Kazuha nodded, "I can see that based on what little I know of her already."
  "Yeah, it's pretty apparent," Kunikuzushi chuckled.
  Kazuha sighed in content.
  "Well, what are *you* thinking about, now?" Kunikuzushi tossed the question back at him.
  Kazuha felt like panicking. He couldn't just say, "you, Kunikuzushi, because you're so breathtaking and beautiful... I could stare at you all day and never grow bored..."
  "Uh," Kazuha laughed nervously, "uhm..."
  "Oh," Kunikuzushi's lips parted into a sly smile, "is 5WIRL's shyest member not as wholesome as everyone thinks?"
  "I- I wouldn't say any of us are completely innocent. I mean, nobody is... Well, Aether actually might be. He really is a mystery."
  Kunikuzushi nodded, "yeah, that's for sure."
  "Oh, that reminds me," Kazuha stood up, "how do you know Aether?" He was glad to get out of saying what he was thinking about.
  Kunikuzushi paused, "we met not long before I left HARBINGERS actually... probably just a few months..." He flicked his eyes over at Kazuha, looking at his expression.
  Kazuha was attentive and fully invested in every word Kunikuzushi said.
  Kunikuzushi looked at a spot on the wall and went on, "he introduced me to someone who... they helped me with a lot. I'm living with them now and they're actually my primary manager, though no one ever talks about it. They're so busy that I hardly see them anymore. But, that's beside the point. I owe Aether a lot, that's why I agreed to the collab so quickly. It wasn't just because I need more publicity right now..."
  Kazuha smiled warmly, "you really are so kind..."
  "If you want to think that," Kunikuzushi brushed it off.
  Kazuha hadn't meant to say that out loud! He felt incredibly embarrassed of himself for just blatantly complimenting him like that! But, wait... why did Kunikuzushi respond like that?...
  "Anyways, I should get going," Kunikuzushi shouldered his bag, "I'll see you later."
  "Bye..." Kazuha watched him go with an almost worried look. Did Kunikuzushi think he wasn't kind?... Did he not think highly of himself? Or even decently?...
  Kazuha lifted his backpack back up. He wished he had refuted Kunikuzushi's statement and assured him that he really was kind and good.