Mayonaka Soñodora Meets Cinema Bizarre

10. Can't Sleep, Can't Eat, I'm Sick

A/N: This kinda feels like a filler chapter, but Ai & Cho put it in their versions, so I figured I should probably put it in mine...

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PART ONE-Mayonaka Soñodora

"It's been a week," Ai muttered, her voice monotone. She was slumped on the couch, her head resting on the back as she stared up at the ceiling with a blank expression. Beside her, Cho was slumped forward, staring at the TV without taking anything in. I watched from the doorway.

Yes, Cinema Bizarre had been gone for a week. Even Bachiko was still having trouble adjusting. Twice I'd caught her looking for the guys with the plans for some prank forming in her head.

"Are you guys still moping?" Fuji asked. She was standing in the kitchen, watching a TV dinner rotate in the microwave. Right now she was shooting a quizzical look through the doorway at our guitarists.

"Don't act like you aren't," Cho grumbled, not taking her eyes from the screen.

Fuji didn't respond. Instead, she bit her lip and turned back to the microwave, now glaring.

I sighed and went up to my room. I wasn't a drinker, so I relied on manga and anime to drown my sorrows. Now I stared at the waist-high stack next to my bed, wondering which series I could read without stirring up painful memories.

"Hm...Fullmetal Alchemist or Lucky Star?" I asked myself aloud, running my index finger along the spines. Against my will, it came to a stop on NANA--Strify's favorite.

I sighed loudly. The cynical part of me rolled it's eyes. What did you expect? it asked without sympathy, You knew they wouldn't stay forever. Their home is in Germany.

I ignored it and instead grabbed the book on the top of the stack, volume 7 of FAKE. If Dee and Ryo couldn't distract me, it was hopeless.

The multitude of pillows and plushies engulfed me as I settled onto the bed. Using the remote to my stereo, I turned on "SHUNKASHUUTO" by Alice Nine. Nothing like a little Japanese immersion to clear the mind, right?

I had been staring at Dee standing on the rooftop of the 27th Precinct's building for ten minutes before I even took in what he was saying. "Vanilla" by Gackt was playing now, and, to my disappointment, I couldn't even get lost in the music. Groaning, I laid FAKE on my pillow and buried my face in plushie-Grimmjow's electric blue hair.

Everything reminded me of Cinema Bizarre--especially Strify. I wondered if it was a simple case of having spent too much time with them or something else. In Ai's and Cho's cases, it was obvious that it was something more. In mine, I was as clueless as I had ever been.

Reading over to grab the jewel case of my Final Attraction CD, I sighed. The cover art hadn't changed, of course, but it somehow felt different to me. As I moved to set it back down, a flash of white caught my eye.

There was a slip of paper stuck between the pages where Strify's picture was printed. In his curly, too-perfect-for-a-guy handwriting, the not read simply, "Till we meet again."

I managed a weak smile. All we need is fantasy, right?

PART TWO-Cinema Bizarre

Strify stared glumly out the window of the cab as it crawled it's way down Münzstraße. Yu and Kiro were in the cab next to him, also in low spirits and buried under their friend's purchases. When even shopping couldn't cure Stify's blues, everyone knew things were bad.

Nobody spoke until they had stumbled through the doorway of their apartment and dropped the multitude of bags on the couches--even the cabbie had only gotten a halfhearted nod of thanks. Now Strify slumped down into the couch beside everything he'd bought, still sulking.

"You guys miss them too."

It was a statement, not a question, spoken in a voice that was unusually somber for any of them, even Kiro. Especially Kiro.

"Of course," Yu grumbled, stomping back into the room from the kitchen, a can of beer now clutched in one hand.

Just then, Strify's phone rang. I really should change the ringtone, he thought idly. It only made him feel worse. It was a recording; Saya sang "My Boy" by Buono!, surprisingly well given that the song was both Japanese and fast-paced, while the rest of them laughed in the background.

"Really?" he heard Yu mutter as he answered the call quickly.

Yes, really. All we need is fantasy, right?