I found that I couldn't keep my eyes off the vocalist.
Usually, I didn't like to single them out like that, but I couldn't say, "I couldn't keep my eyes off the black-haired one" because three out of the four of them had black hair, and I couldn't say, "I couldn't keep my eyes off the one wearing black" because they were all wearing black. They had an interesting group dynamic; really, I could hardly peel my eyes away from any one of them for long enough to watch another, but I did feel drawn to the vocalist. Not in a "this is fate" kind of way, but more like a "I'd fuck you if we were both drunk enough" kind of way.
I had actually missed his name when they introduced themselves since he spoke so softly. He was considerably quieter than the other members; the other three laughed and teased each other while the vocalist sat back and watched them, smiling and laughing along but hardly saying a word unless he was addressed. I had watched Dadaroma's music video for Risley Circus earlier and found it hard to believe that this quiet young man with a glowing smile could be one and the same as the demented clown he portrayed in the video. He had a soft voice, too, although it was deeper than his singing voice. I wasn't a fan of Dadaroma, mostly because I didn't like the screaming and growling that I now found inconceivable to have come from someone so reserved.
One of the other members, the guitarist Takashi if I had heard correctly, feminine and cute with his short, curly hair pulled back in two childish pigtails, addressed him and I finally caught his name. Yoshiatsu. At that moment, the singer glanced over in my direction, and I blushed for having been caught staring. This is an interview, not a date, I reminded myself. Answering his bandmate's question, Yoshiatsu spoke rapidly and moved his hands about, pointing and motioning and acting things out. He was one of those people that talked with his hands. He was so different in person from his band persona, I wondered if it was hard for him to be "Yoshiatsu" as it meant for Dadaroma. But then, this wasn't anything new to me. The members of visual kei bands were almost always the polar opposite of whatever character they played for the band. The quiet and reserved ones were loud, the colorful and wacky ones were mature and laid-back, the scary black-clad ones with piercings and tattoos were kindhearted, the ones who dressed like prostitutes were gentlemen, and the really strange ones were honestly just really normal. He's just a shy little guy with a big stage persona. Why am I so interested in him? Yoshiatsu looked up at me again, then, catching me staring for a second time, and I felt my cheeks heat up again. Except I'd played this game with plenty of hot bandmen before. Yoshiatsu wasn't so different that I wasn't brave enough to stare right back.
"Aya?" NicoNico's MC poked me, and it occurred to me that Yoshiatsu wasn't the only one staring at me. They were all staring at me. With a jolt, I remembered that my one job was to announce the name of the MV they were going to play before the viewers got to watch the preview. It was Risley Circus. The only reason I had watched the Risley Circus video this morning was because I had to talk about it, and the only reason why I had to talk about it was because I didn't actually work for NicoNico and just needed to get close enough to Dadaroma to ask them for a one-on-one interview for my own blog. I was lucky I was allowed to sit in on the program, especially considering the only Dadaroma songs I knew were Risley Circus and Ame no Waltz, which had been played at the beginning of the show. Again, I didn't like Dadaroma, and the weird little crush I had on the vocalist wasn't going to change that, but they were popular and featuring them on my blog could earn it some more views.
I introduced the Risley Circus video and the four of them stopped staring at me. Thankfully, it didn't seem like I had been zoning out and drooling over Yoshiatsu for too long. The screen would cut over to the video now, and with the cameras no longer on the band, Yoshiatsu relaxed and took a drink from his water bottle. Besides sitting with his arms crossed or fidgeting, the only other thing he did while sitting there was drink his water. Staying hydrated, I see. Takashi, on the other hand, sat there with his sleeve-covered hands to his face, giggling and looking cute. They were all wearing sweatshirts with the Dadaroma logo, except for Yoshiatsu, whose sweatshirt just had a large question mark on it, as if he had missed the memo to come wearing his Dadaroma sweatshirt. I still found it interesting. Most visual bands that came in to be featured on NicoNico's shows wore their costumes or regular street clothes. I hardly ever saw bands wearing their own merchandise.
