Princes of Rock
by Suke

I don't much like doing this but there're lot's of flashbacks today so // ... // indicates flashbacks. I always feel that a good writer can do without italics, bolding, *s and stuff.

Duomo! I will apologise in advance: Gomen, gomen for this extremely uninspired chapter. Sigh, Suke-san thought very long (like more than a week! I used to be 4 updates in advance. Now, I'm struggling to catch up) about how to do this but, uhm, I couldn't come up with anything good.

And about Echizen's occupation, it makes me laugh like a mad man to think about it. I kind of feel that there's a lot of potential that I haven't exploited in this but, sigh, I will try in the future.

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Chapter 6: Fashion Victims

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Driving Fashions (Dec 15, 2003, Monday -- Great Reporter Inui)

In another surprise announcement, to the delight of many fashionistas, hot up and coming fashion designer Echizen Ryoma has agreed to be the costume and set designer for the Christmas concert. Echizen has often been labelled as the future of style and regarded as the new pillar of fashion by critics the world over.

Concert goers can expect their favourite stars togged out in amazing confections by this designer known for his ever evolving style. In an interview, Echizen revealed that he has a whole new wardrobe in the works especially for this concert. With reference to his newest collection released two months ago, the successful sharply hyperbolic 'Drive B', Echizen has titled this collection 'Drive A'.

"This time it will be a slightly different look," Echizen's spokesman said when the announcement was made public. "'Drive A' will really hit you in the face."

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// A week ago //

Echizen Ryoma had been walking through Tokyo city centre, watching the people who had real jobs rush by, a thousand five hundred of them crossing the road when the red man turned green. It was kind of good to be back home, although it meant more work and a whole new collection in less a month. All he needed was a little bit more inspiration but, right now, he was just looking for a little breakfast.

Just then, a crowd of little monkeys ran across his path. Monkeys? The brown eyed boy blinked but they were still there. Monkeys in the middle of the Tokyo city centre. Glancing around, the boy noted that no one else looked the least bit phased at this incursion of wildlife. So maybe Tokyo had changed more than he had thought.

Ryoma was only vaguely interested as he watched the monkeys raid a trash bin. Pretty soon, it became apparent that one of the monkeys was meaner than the rest and hence, was their leader.

This head monkey didn't scour the bins. Instead it stood to a side and took away from the other monkeys what they had, never mind that they were mostly holding scraps of newspaper. It bit and scratched and screamed until it got whatever object, appetizing or not, that the other monkeys had found.

// Today //

"Oh, they're all so nice," Choutarou beamed, running his hands over the rack of clothes. Turning around, he saw his employer enter the room. "Ah, Atobe-san, you look really good."

And indeed it was true that Atobe Keigo looked stunning. He had been trying outfit after outfit from the rack provided by that world famous designer, Echizen Ryoma, and even Atobe had to admit that the clothes he had been provided were fittingly beautiful for his royal person.

"I'll wear this then," Shishido came in after Atobe, tying his hair up that had come loose from its cord while he was changing.

"Shishido-sempai! That's really nice too," the white-haired boy said.

"No," Atobe snapped at once, not even turning to look. "It looks awful. I can't be seen with you in that," which was completely untrue but Atobe didn't care.

"You always victimize me!" Shishido accused angrily but his lower lip was wobbly. Atobe was so mean to him!

"Atobe-san will need one set of traditional clothes and one or two other sets from your personal rack. Then, there is the outfit from the black rack and the outfit from the white rack." One of Echizen's assistants, a nervous woman, possibly due to working so long with Echizen, read off from a list in front of her. "If I could just know which outfits you prefer?"

Choutaro quickly moved to attend to the woman while Atobe picked a new outfit for Shishido from the rack, choosing according to which piece elicited the most pained noise from the long haired boy.

There were three racks of clothes in the dressing room. One rack held entirely black outfits while another held completely white ones. These were to be shared among the four singers for their opening set and their closing set. And then, there was a third rack of clothes that Echizen had designed entirely for Atobe with Atobe in mind.

The fashion designer had refused to share how he had come by his inspiration but the rack consisted of outfits that ran from luxurious crushed brown velvet and chocolate furs to tan leather and ochre chiffon and Atobe-sama was very pleased.

Echizen watched from his corner of the room, feeling sleepy and really bored. He didn't know why he was expected to be around. Looking at Atobe, currently in shiny brown leather pants, a tan velvet shirt and brown fur cap though, Echizen couldn't help but feel satisfied that he had managed to best bring out Atobe's character.

"Monkey king," Echizen muttered under his breath.

"Did you say something?" Someone murmured from beside him.

Ryoma would have repeated himself much more loudly but he realised the person who had spoken was fast asleep, sprawled on the floor in the doorway. The blond boy mumbled something else about strawberry ice-cream or Atobe with cream, it was hard to tell, before snoring softly again. One of Atobe's lackeys, Ryoma supposed.

Ryoma stepped gingerly over the sleeping boy as he left the room to go see how the other three singers liked their clothes.

// A week ago //

There was no reason that the two trees would catch Echizen's eye. They were common wayside trees, evergreen and incongruous as a pair except that one tree was much larger and greener than the other.

The smaller tree was obviously the younger one but it seemed rather sad that just because it was planted later, it would be overlooked as the smaller, less green tree for the rest of its life.

Ryoma blinked brown eyes. He couldn't quite remember what but somehow, the trees reminded him of something, or someone.

// Today //

"Ah, Fuji-san, I see you have finally found time to come and see your brother," Mizuki said languidly, twirling a curl with a superior air, -- to a rack of clothes. He blinked.

No one noticed the classical musician's smile grow imperceptibly wider as he stood at the door, across the room from his previous position, and introduced himself to the scruffy fashion designer who had just entered.

"I'm Fuji Syusuke, Yuuta's aniki," the brown haired boy said, beaming. "I really like your work, Echizen-san."

The fashion designer blinked at the unexpected conversation. He wasn't aware that anyone had noticed him entering. And didn't anyone else think that the slight boy being so observant when his eyes were closed was just a little too creepy?

"Aa, doumo," Echizen muttered.

"Yes, Yuuta and I are very pleased," Mizuki quickly hastened to their side. He turned to Fuji with a complacent smile and continued: "And talking about Yuuta --"

"Oh, Yuuta, you look so cute!"

Mizuki suddenly noticed that Fuji was no longer in front of him but on the other side of the room again, enthusiastically complimenting Yuuta as he entered, dressed in yet another set of clothes. As if that wasn't enough, Echizen wasn't paying attention anymore either.

Mizuki reminded himself that getting into a fight would severely mess up his pretty shiny curls so he mustn't hit anyone.

"Aniki!" Yuuta sounded annoyed as he blushed and swatted away his brother's fingers that had automatically moved to straighten his tie.

"Rock stars can wear their ties crooked, you know. Yuuta's not a classical singer anymore." Mizuki said in what he thought was a suitably cutting tone after rushing across the room to his client.

"And you are?" Fuji asked with an innocently perplexed smile still firmly in place, fingers undeterred from neatening his younger brother's clothing.

"Aniki, you know who he is. I've told you a hundred times that Mizuki is my agent," Yuuta scowled at his reflection in the mirror as he pulled his tie crooked again.

Mizuki was currently in the throes of some strong emotion and could not quite speak. Yuuta wanted to sigh. No one could rile Mizuki up like his aniki and with two of the people he cared most about, not to mention two of the most scheming people he knew, acting like this, Yuuta was sure that everyone was a victim in their own fashion.

"You know how bad I am with names," Fuji smiled beatifically and reached up to comb his brother's hair a bit.

"Anyway, why in the world are all my tops green and all my pants brown?" Yuuta decided to change the topic quickly.

And it was true, every shirt, tank top and jacket was in varying shades of green. And every pair of pants was in some sort of brown. The only escape from the two colours came in the accessories which were an occasional white or red. Even the yukata hanging on the rack was a butterfly print gradient fill from a golden brown at the bottom to a shimmering pale green at the shoulders.

"I like it," Fuji beamed. "You look like a beautiful tree. Are you okay, Echizen-san?" The last part was directed at a suddenly coughing fashion designer.

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Wakato Hiroshi waltzed into the room, spun in a circle and then struck a pose. No one screamed or squealed or cheered or fainted. That's right, Kajimoto hadn't let any of his fans into the building. He pouted. It just wasn't right for him to be trying on set after set of clothes without anyone to shout "Change over!" every time he came out dressed in something new.

A spiky haired agent pushed past him and Kajimoto impatiently. Oishi frowned slightly at Momo's treatment of the other singer but entered their shared changing room without a word. The atmosphere in the room was bad enough.

"I don't know why Wakato needs his agent to go in with him when he changes. And they take so long too!" Momo groused as the door closed behind Oishi. "We always have to wait so long out here. How many things could they possibly find to do in there anyway?"

Kaidoh couldn't exactly specify why but he blushed at Momo's words, although he did agree entirely with what Momo had said about Wakato and his entourage.

He didn't see why it turned out that Mizuki and Atobe had their own rooms but they had to share with that weirdo, Wakato. And what was with those twin bodyguards, Tanaka Yousei and Jousei? They looked just about as capable of protecting Wakato as Momo did of doing something intelligent, and Kaidoh didn't see why Wakato had to use twins.

"Che, that guy is so flashy," the bodyguard muttered to himself.

He was rewarded with a superiorly challenging look from Wakato. The superstar was not happy at having to share rooms either but the least those freaks from Oishi's camp could do was to talk softer if they wanted to gossip about them. And they should do something about their dress sense too. Did that guy really think that bandanas were still in?

Momo scowled to himself. So far, everything about the concert had been an absolute mess. Since the press conference, things had progressed and had gotten slightly better with the rough picture of the concert filling out nicely.

The company hadn't improved much though. And today, at the clothes fitting, thinking about the sushi print yukata Oishi was changing out of and the shiny scaled tuna sashimi-red top he was changing into, Momo couldn't help but get the strongest feeling that they were all just victims of some tremendous joke by the fashion designer.

"You!" Ryoma was startled into saying. It was the boy he had never expected to see again. Well, if he was expecting an apology or for Ryoma to be even slightly abashed, he had another thing coming.

Everyone turned to look at the fashion designer in surprise. Echizen looked shocked at first and then, stubbornly arrogant as though he was waiting to be accused of something.

"You!" Momo did a perfect repetition of Echizen's expressions.

"It wasn't my fault!" were Echizen's next words. He stuffed his hands into his pockets for added effect. "You were just too slow."

The disturbing violet eyes locked onto his brown ones as the taller boy walked ever closer to a slowly edging away boy. Echizen was beginning to get a little freaked out now. He had met the other boy a week ago when he had gone into a fastfood restaurant for some late breakfast-early lunch.

It was true that it was at least partly his fault that the other boy had been covered in Ponta, Echizen's part being the dumping of the Ponta on his spiky head. And it was also true, that Echizen shouldn't have glared at him and then stalked away immediately after that, even when the other boy, helplessly balancing a full tray, had yelled at him to wait.

But it was definitely the taller boy's fault for standing so close and then not moving away quickly enough when Ryoma had spun around. Thanks to him, Ryoma didn't get his Ponta fix that morning.

"You poured Ponta on my head and then ran away," Momo stated.

"I did not run," Ryoma replied, unable to come up with anything better.

Momo had managed to back Echizen against a wall by now and had the full benefit of the younger boy's glare when he finally remembered what he had wanted from the boy. He grinned suddenly.

"I'm so glad I met you again. I've been thinking about you since that day," Momo said.

"What?" Echizen was nonplussed by this sudden change of moods. What was the baka saying? He glanced around frantically for some kind of help but all he got were vastly interested expressions from their audience.

"I want to be your agent. I heard you humming that day and I think you've got a lot of talent."

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No, it wasn't a mistake. It was him! It was him! It was him! World famous MTV VJ, Kikumaru Eiji clapped both his hands over his mouth to prevent a decidedly unmanly squeal from escaping. He couldn't help it. He was too excited. And happy. And excited. Wide blue eyes blinked, his brow creased into a frown and he bit his lip. No, he mustn't do anything silly.

The sweet redhead found himself crouching on his knees behind a car, head poking out a bit to peer over the bonnet and into the window of a café across the street. He was oblivious to the passers-by who looked at him oddly, a boy in a slim white winter jacket, black gloves and black woollen hat. He was oblivious to everything except that one person he had seen while walking past a café window on the most ordinary of Tuesday afternoons, after his shift at the television station.

Wearing the most ordinary of green woollen sweaters over a cream collared shirt and dark pants that could be bought at any store, Oishi Shuichiroh sat at a table in an ordinary little café that Eiji frequented sometimes with a steaming latte before him like it was the most ordinary thing in the world.

It was, well, incredible. Of all the settings that Eiji had pictured meeting the rock star in, it had never been in a part of Eiji's daily life. Oishi was sitting on a chair that Eiji sat on before, drinking from a cup that Eiji might have drank from and drinking a drink that Eiji may never have ordered before because Eiji only drank chocolate but was made by the same person that made Eiji's hot chocolate surprise.

Nya, he wanted to say something. He wanted to jump up and down. He wanted to -- Eiji had no idea what to do now. Of course he had pictured scenarios in his mind where he accidentally bumped into the singer at some fancy party. He had thought of a hundred cool and witty things to say to make Oishi think he was special and want to get to know him better but they all seemed dumb now.

Eiji knew he had to act more cool and sophisticated than his silly little self to get the attention of anyone like Oishi. And he must not act like a fangirl, nevermind the urge to grab the rock star.

Oishi got up from his chair and tucked it neatly back into place under the table. He picked up his black jacket from the coat rack and exited the café. Eiji could see his shoulders hunch up when the cold hit him. Hurriedly peeling on his gloves, Oishi walked at a quick, steady pace down the sidewalk.

Eiji automatically got onto his feet and followed, ducking behind cars and lampposts as he went along. He couldn't let the singer just slip away. He had to talk to him and be so cool and wonderful that Oishi would like him.

He wondered vaguely where Oishi was going. He seemed to know his way around. If he was lucky, maybe he'd even get to find out where the rock star stayed!

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He's in Fashion (Dec 16, 2003, Tuesday -- Great Reporter Inui)

It was an open secret but still it was a secret because no one had managed to make the connection between the lead singer of the legendary rock band Smashing Returns and a certain successful fashion designer. But it's true, the retired rock sensation, Echizen Nanjirou, and fashion favourite of the moment, Echizen Ryoma, are father and son!

Echizen Nanjirou was in his heyday when he suddenly and mysteriously retired from the music scene. There were many rumours about the reason but most believable (78%) was his marriage and the birth of his son.

Since then, Echizen Ryoma has grown up surrounded by music. He is classically trained in four instruments and is said to have a great voice having been learning to sing from his father since he was a child. He has attended the prestigious Tokyo Classical Music Institute but when he graduated, he went into fashion.

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Review kudasai! It was a very long chapter. And not very funny. Gomen. And about the two cliffhangers, gomen also, I'm out of time. Hope you liked it though.

Hoi! Because I'll be off to camp for the next few days, there won't be updates (no, don't celebrate yet) until Saturday. Don't expect a longer reprieve than that because Suke-san is struggling to finish this off on Christmas ^_^ Will probably update really often after Saturday because there's so much more to write heh.

Coming up when I come back: Eiji Stalks Oishi part 2 ^_^

Okay, I don't know if you can guess from this chapter, but the finalised pairings have been decided. And the winners are ... traditional. Haha, it's a golden pair (this was never debatable by the way. Author's vote is worth 100 of reviewer's ^_^;), TezuFuji (gomen to all the TezuAtobe fans. I actually had the storyline for TezuAtobe but TezuFuji wins overwhelmingly), AtoJiroh and MomoRyo.

Other requested pairings that might make appearances are InuKai, WakatoKajimoto, YuutaMizuki, AkuTaka/AkuTaichi/AkuSen (haha, we'll have to see) and BaneDavide.

Oh, and this is a reminder, these are all hints only ^_^ -- really.

For Taka-san fans, I promise he'll appear. I couldn't squeeze him into this update but soon. I love writing racket-wielding Taka.

Thank you everyone who reviewed! Every time I got tired of writing, I read your reviews and felt so much more inspired ^_^ I have lots of things I want to say to everyone but I've written so much already and I only just finished this chapter (about five minutes ago, gomen for grammar errors) and am rushing. It'll have to wait till next time!