5WIRL + Wanderer COLLAB!!!

Chapter 4

  For once, Kazuha was the first into the training room. He smiled to himself, proud of his success. He even decided to start setting up for everyone else. Now, he didn't have all the equipment, but he set up all he could.
  Since everyone left in a hurry the night before, it was still a little messy. Kazuha decided to clean up all that as well.
  While Kazuha was wiping down the mirror wall, the doors clicked open.
  Xiao stepped in, surprisingly. His appearance wasn't surprising, it was that Venti wasn't trailing behind him.
  "Morning," Xiao immediately took out his laptop and got to work.
  "How did it go last night?" Kazuha asked.
  "Venti kept everyone out as late as possible. I think I'm the only one who went to bed at a decent time."
  "Did you guys have a sleepover?" Kazuha chuckled at the idea. It seems like such a cute thing to do.
  "No, Venti just ran us all over the place," Xiao sighed, "I was lucky enough to take a few short naps amidst the chaos. I wouldn't be surprised if they all fall asleep while they're here. Actually, that might be a good thing. It'll be more quiet and then you and I can finish the final touches on the song."
  "Sounds like a plan," Kazuha smiled, "so you think we should make them hot chocolate to put them to sleep? Or tell them a bedtime story?"
  Xiao actually smiled at that. "Tell them the most boring story you know, then maybe it'll put them to sleep."
  Kazuha chuckled and the door opened again.
  This time Kunikuzushi stepped in. He didn't look as awake as Xiao, but didn't seem to have suffered from whatever torture Venti surely put him through. "Morning," he waved, "what's on the agenda today?"
  "Putting the others to sleep so we can have some quiet time for finishing the song," Xiao said plainly.
  "Oh," Kunikuzushi looked shocked, "really?..."
  Kazuha laughed, "you know, you're included in that group. Xiao said I should bore you all to sleep."
  Kunikuzushi smiled, "uh-huh..."
  Then Venti stumbled in, "hey guys..."
  Kunikuzushi walked over to where Xiao was in order to leave Venti some room to wobble in.
  Venti really did seem about to pass out. He staggered over to the table and sat down, "phew... Kazuha, you should have gone with us..."
  "I think it's better that I didn't. Otherwise, Xiao would have no one to help him," he chuckled.
"Huh? But I'm great help... right?..." Venti leaned on Xiao's shoulder.
  "When you're awake. Go back to sleep  so that we can start actually working on vocals when you wake up."
  "Wait really? You want me to sleep?" Venti asked.
  "Yup, Kazuha's going to tell you all a bedtime story, too," Xiao said very unenthusiastically.
  "Yay," Venti slumped down in his chair very tiredly, "what story is it?"
  "I'm not sure yet," Kazuha shrugged, "do you have any requests?"
  "Mmm, tell me a story you grew up hearing..." Venti seemed about ready to go to sleep and never wake up.
  The doors opened once more and Aether and Heizou entered the training room.
  "Yay, now we can have story time..." Venti raised his arms, then they fell back at his sides, "ow..."
  Aether giggled, though there were large bags under his eyes.
  "Hm? Story time?" Heizou asked, seeming just as tired as Venti.
  "Yeah... Kazuha's gonna tell us a story..." Venti's eyes were weighed down.
  Xiao stood up, "come on, go sit on the couch at least."
  "Oh yeah... I forgot we had one of those..." Venti giggled.
  Xiao sighed as he picked Venti up, "it's been there forever..."
  "Weeee..." Venti whispered as Xiao walked him over to the couch and set him down.
  Heizou happily joined Venti on the couch, immediately closing his eyes. "Can it be a mystery story?" He yawned.
  "Venti already made a request, sorry," Kazuha pulled a chair out to sit in front of the couch.
  "Aw man..." Heizou breathed a sigh.
  "Haha, sucker..." Venti snorted.
  Aether sat down on Heizou's other side, tiredly yet eagerly awaiting story time.
  "Hmm," Kazuha took a moment to think, "it's been a long time so I'm not certain that I'm remembering it right, but I'll tell you an old folktale called 'My Lord Bag of Rice'."
  "Hehe, that's a funny name..." Venti giggled, which made everyone else near him start tiredly giggling, too.
  Kunikuzushi turned his chair to face Kazuha, leaning his arm against the table and his chin in his hand.
  Kazuha cleared his throat quietly, "alright." He took a moment to collect his memory.
  "Our story begins with a young man named Hidesato. He was quite strong and wanted to test himself with an adventure. So he set out with his longbow in hand and his quiver over his shoulder. Hidesato came to a large and shimmering lake and went to cross over using the bridge."
  Venti was already out cold, breathing through his mouth and drooling. Heizou was leaning against Aether's shoulder, his eyes closed and his arms folded. Aether was fighting to stay awake now that he was relaxed.
  Kazuha smiled, continuing on. "Only, on this bridge was a beast. Laying across the whole length of the bridge, and even longer still, was a serpent-like dragon. Hidesato carefully crossed this bridge, walking over the dragon's slick scales. Only a man with a true heart of a warrior could do such a marvelous thing.
  "Hidesato let out a relieved breath once he crossed the bridge. He turned around to find the dragon's body gone. Instead, there stood a man on the bridge. He bowed low and had hair the color of fire. On top of his head was a crown. This man asked Hidesato for a favor. Hidesato said he would do all he could if this man would only say who he was.
  "The man introduced himself as the dragon king of this lake and asked Hidesato to slay his arch nemesis. This monster was a giant centipede curled around the mountain next to the lake. The dragon king explained that this centipede would come down the mountain every night and take away a member of his family and that there was nothing he could do. 'I've been laying on this bridge for many days, waiting for a human brave enough to help me. You are the first to not run from me,' he said. 'You are a true warrior, won't you help me?'
  Hidesato agreed. After all he couldn't just stand by when people were in danger."
  Aether finally nodded off, slumping down.
  Kazuha chuckled, but didn't stop his story. "And so, our brave warrior went with the dragon king into the lake and to his palace, where they feasted and made merry. Then, once it was midnight the place shook.
  "Hidesato and the king went out onto the balcony. The ground quaked as the enormous centipede began descending the mountain, its eyes glowing red with hunger. The king begged Hidesato to save his family and the warrior took his bow in his hand and knocked an arrow. Only, he had two arrows left in his quiver now. Meaning, he only had three chances. He took aim and fired. The arrow hit the centipede right in the head, except, it glided off the beast's exoskeleton uselessly. Hidesato scanned the great centipede and took aim once more. Again, the arrow hit its mark, but slid off like nothing.
  "The dragon king began to pull at his hair in despair, crying that his family would all be taken from him. Hidesato only had one arrow left. He saw that the beast was also starting to get closer, slowly unwrapping itself from around the mountain. Then, our hero suddenly remembered that centipede's are vulnerable to human saliva. How convieninet is that?" Kazuha chuckled. "And so, he put the tip of his last arrow into his mouth before taking his aim and firing.
  "The arrow hit the centipede in the head, striking true and sinking into its brain. The beast fell, dead as dead could be. The palace rejoiced, praising Hidesato for his bravery and all-around amazingness. Finally, the night was over and with it the great centipede.
  "Hidesato was about to take his leave, saying his work here was done. The dragon king and his family begged him to accept a few gifts of their gratitude. He agreed, seeing they were truly grateful.
  "The hero received a big bronze bell, a bag of rice, a roll of silk, and a cooking pot. All the gifts except the first were magic. The bag of rice never ran out, the silk never ceased, and no matter what was cooked in the pot it always came out delicious."
  Kazuha let the room fill with silence before saying, "it's a bit weird that this story is named after a gift he got in the end that had nothing to do with the plot, huh?"
  Xiao stood up, whispering, "I'll be back in a minute," and left the room.
  Kazuha quietly put his chair back at the table and sat down next to Kunikuzushi, who was very asleep. He laid there using his own arm as a pillow.
  Except... he wasn't sleeping. He was just resting, almost asleep. But Kazuha didn't know that.
  Kazuha smiled, putting his chin in his hand. He wondered how much of the story everyone had heard. He was sure Venti hadn't heard any of it at all. He just hoped that those who were actually listening enjoyed it. He didn't put too much effort into his storytelling because he knew they were all going to fall asleep anyways.
  Kazuha couldn't stop smiling as he gazed at Kunikuzushi. He looked so peaceful and relaxed... There was only one thing that bothered him.
  A few strands of Kunikuzushi's hair were sticking to his eyelashes.
  Kazuha reached out and brushed Kunikuzushi's hair behind his ear with his fingertips. His hand lingered just centimeters away from Kunikuzushi's face. Kazuha was frozen in place.
  Did he really just do that? He started to feel like a terrible person. Kunikuzushi was sleeping! He shouldn't be touching him!
  Kazuha drew his hand back and shoved it in his pocket. He was disappointed in himself and was certain Beidou would force this information out of him and tease him about it later.
  Still, Kazuha wondered, whispering to himself. "How would you respond if you were awake?..."
  Of course there was no response. Kunikuzushi's hand twitched, if anything.
  But Kunikuzushi really didn't know what to do with this. Should he answer the question?... or should he pretend to be asleep? Kazuha already thought he was asleep so... that'd be the easiest option. Plus, he was tired and didn't want to deal with this right now.
  Kazuha sighed quietly, closing his eyes. Then Xiao entered back in. He sat back down at his computer, speaking in a hushed voice, "let's move to the recording room so we don't wake anyone. I've already cleared off an area."
  Kazuha nodded and helped Xiao move everything they needed.
  Later, when Kazuha and Xiao had finished, they found everyone still asleep.
Well, almost everyone. Aether seemed to be the only one awake. He was blinking absently at the far wall, as if in a daze.
  Xiao gently shook Venti's arm, "hey, wake up."
  "Hmm???" He slowly opened his eyes.
  "Go home and sleep there. We won't get anything more done today, anyways."
  Venti sighed heavily, "but I'm so comfy..."
  Xiao pulled him up, "come on, let's go."
  Aether yawned as he jostled Heizou.
  Heizou sighed as he woke up. He leaned onto Aether, "is it morning yet?..."
  Aether giggled tiredly and stood up. Heizou frowned, "my pillow..."
  Kunikuzushi sat up, looking tired and bored. Kazuha wanted to ask how much of the story he had been awake for, then thought it was a weird question so he kept it to himself.
  Xiao pulled Venti out and Aether dragged Heizou to his feet.
  Heizou leaned against him, sighing again. "We're done already?..."
  Aether looked at his watch, then showed it to Heizou. Heizou narrowed his eyes at it, "... I can't read..."
  Aether giggled and collected their belongings before taking Heizou's hand and walking them both out. He waved at the others as they exited.
  Kunikuzushi sighed, pressing his palms into his eyes.
  Kazuha smiled, "what on earth did Venti make you guys do last night?"
  "We ate at a cute little cafe type place, then he started pulling us along on a random adventure. It was mostly just window shopping in a mall nearby, but..." Kunikuzushi shook his head, "we got carried away and stayed out really late."
  Kazuha chuckled, "did you have fun?"
  Kunikuzushi shrugged, "kinda. At the very least, Venti made me laugh a lot. My face still hurts from smiling so much."
  "Well, it's always good to laugh," Kazuha nodded, "even if it hurts afterwards."
  "Yeah, I guess..." Kunikuzushi laid his head on his arm again, his hair falling over his face.
  Kazuha saw the perfect opportunity to get an answer to his question. He reached out, not even giving himself time to think about it because he knew he would somehow convince himself not to.
  Kunikuzushi's eyes snapped open and he seized Kazuha's wrist with an almost murderous grip.
  Kazuha froze. Had someone really hurt him?...
  Kunikuzushi let go abruptly, "sorry..."
  "No, it's alright," Kazuha took his hand back, "I don't mind."
  Kunikuzushi just looked at him. "I think you *should* mind."
  "Huh?" He blinked.
  "Yeah, you should totally mind if someone is being violent with you," Kunikuzushi gave him a confused and concerned look.
  "Oh- oh, uh..." Kazuha refrained from saying what immediately came to his mind. *I don't mind because it's you...* That was such a terrible thing to say! Especially in this situation!
  Kunikuzushi shook his head, "you're really strange," and sat up again.
  Kazuha laughed nervously, "I get that a lot..."
  Kunikuzushi sighed tiredly, "were you and Xiao able to finish what you were working on?"
  Kazuha nodded, "yeah. We will probably start working on vocals tomorrow."
  Kunikuzushi nodded, yawning, "alright..."
  "Do you have someone coming to pick you up, or do you drive?" Kazuha asked.
  "I've got someone coming," he took out his phone, "they should be here soon... if you're still around I could introduce you to my other manager."
  Kazuha smiled, "I'd like that."
  Kunikuzushi stood up and stretched his arms towards the ceiling, "I am so ready to go to bed."
  Kazuha chuckled as he got up as well.
  Kunikuzushi sighed tiredly as he hoisted up his bag onto his shoulder, "I'm glad you and Xiao at least got something done... I feel like I haven't done a thing to be helpful this whole time..."
  "No, no," Kazuha held his hands out, "you've been really helpful. You gave us a new perspective and you're experienced-"
  Kunikuzushi held his hand up, "ah, don't give me that. You're just trying to make me feel better."
  Kazuha instinctively took Kunikuzushi's hands in his own, squeezing them, "but I'm being honest."
  Kunikuzushi searched Kazuha's face. Then he sighed again, pulling his hands away, "alright, alright, fine."
  "Thank you," Kazuha said quietly as he pulled his backpack over his shoulders. He really didn't know why he felt the need to take his hand and felt really embarrassed about it. He was grateful that Kunikuzushi hadn't said anything more...
  Kunikuzushi yawned as he pushed the doors open. "Oh, I guess I should warn you. My manager may look... young... but she's older than me, so don't let her looks fool you."
  Kazuha nodded, though was very confused. So his manager was a girl?... Did that mean that Kunikuzushi... Kazuha shook the thoughts from his mind. He needed to just see what happened.
  "Do you have a ride?" Kunikuzushi asked as he and Kazuha began to walk down the hallway towards the exit.
  "I live close by," Kazuha said. "I find walking kind of therapeutic in a way."
  "Aren't you worried about your fans recognizing you or something?" He asked curiously.
  "Not really," Kazuha chuckled, "our fanbase isn't that big yet... I might have to start wearing a mask soon, thanks to our collab announcement."
  Kunikuzushi chuckled, "I can't remember the last time I took a walk outside without wearing a mask..."
  "Do you ever... regret becoming an idol?" Kazuha quietly asked.
  Kunikuzushi shook his head, "surprisingly not. Even after so long, and so many negative experiences, I still love making music and it always feels amazing to preform lives. I guess... I know someone out there loves what I'm doing, so I continue to create not just for myself..."
  Kazuha smiled, "I know how you feel..."
  "You write most of 5WIRL's songs, yeah?"
  He nodded, "yeah, it's normally a joint effort with everyone pitching in, but I do most of the writing portion. Ah, specifically the lyrics."
  "Mmm," Kunikuzushi pushed the exit doors open, "so you're like a poet?"
"Uh, yeah. That's a good way of putting it," Kazuha chuckled. He wasn't sure he wanted Kunikuzushi to know he wrote poetry. It's an art form like anything else but... cringe culture isn't nice and it was hard enough for him to write already. Not that he expected Kunikuzushi to say anything mean!
  Standing outside in front of a cute little compact car was a... child?...
  Kazuha blinked and rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
  This young girl looked no older than ten years old. She wore her white hair in a side ponytail with a few green, leaf-shaped clips littered around her head. Her outfit consisted of a sweater too large for her and underneath a white spring dress with floral designs on it.
  She smiled up at them, "is this your new friend, Kuni???"
  Kunikuzushi nodded, "this is Kazuha. Uh, Kazuha meet Nahida, Nahida meet Kazuha."
  She held her little hand out, "hello, I'm Kuni's main supervisor."
  Kazuha faltered before taking her hand, "uh, I'm..."
  "I can tell you're surprised by my appearance," she giggled. "Don't worry, everyone is. I think it's accurate to say you're 'astonished', no?"
  Kazuha nodded, "yes, I... Kunikuzushi said you're older than him?"
  "Mhm," Nahida let go, "I guess I'm more like an older sister than a manager, hehe,"
  Kazuha couldn't wrap his mind around this. Nahida wasn't just super short, she definitely had the proportions of a child! So how could she be older than Kunikuzushi?!
  Kunikuzushi stifled a yawn, "you can just call me 'Kuni', you know."
  "Ah, right," Kazuha smiled tightly. His heart was beating abnormally and he wasn't confident in his ability to control his wayward tongue at a time like this.
  Nahida took Kunikuzushi's hand, "come on, you're about to fall asleep. Let's go home. Bye, Kazuha, it was nice to meet you. And thanks for taking care of Kuni for me."
  "No problem," Kazuha smiled, "it was nice to meet you, too."
  Nahida and Kunikuzushi got into the car and drove off.
  Kazuha started off towards home, breathing a sigh of relief. He smiled as he realized something. Nahida had called herself an 'older sister' earlier. That had to mean she didn't see Kunikuzushi romantically, which meant they weren't a couple.
  That meant that Kunikuzushi wasn't in a relationship! ... that Kazuha knew of... There could still be someone out there that Kunikuzushi liked...
  Kazuha sighed once again, unsure what to do and how to feel.