Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Last Song ❯ News Flash: Sonic Boom or Bust? ( Chapter 5 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

A.N: Thank Hyne this is the last chapter Hiei has to be nice, you don't know how hard it is when he's a bit out of character. Thanks for reading! Fantasy.


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Noizu?" Says their manager. Seeing the nods from all four boys, he draws in a breath of uncertainty. "And when did you say you came up with this name?"

"Around four I think." Replies the taller of the group members; long hair drawn into a ponytail today.

"It certainly sounds like a four a.m. name." Comments the red haired male.

Hiei ignored that clearly rude remark since the name had infact been his that was chosen. It was a long, tiring night that just spiraled into a plethora of horrific names such as: Hands- from Yusuke, Music- from Koenma, and 4 people- from Kuronue. In the end nothing suited what they stand for except the word itself. And with only two hours of sleep under their belts the group came to the studio for recording bright and early and that is what they're here to do.

"Alright, I hope you've warmed up because we've got work to do."

It wasn't so much work as it was a day in the life of someone whose been wrongly imprisoned. He harranged them every chance he got when someone slipped up either on a note or on the lyrics to the point where they almost quit because their hands and Hiei's voice had gone nearly raw from over use. Mr. Sawada's secretary came in with lemon tea for Hiei and orange juice for the others and even though they are beyond starving to death having not eaten anything since yesterday afternoon they ignored the hunger pains and played through the evening until just about midnight.

"What are we to eat?" Asks Koenma hardly caring that it wasn't the smartest sentence ever put together. He's exhausted beyond all reason. Who knew blowing this and twinkling his fingers across that could actually wear on you.

"Mm." Intoned Hiei, voice too cracked to speak. He had to wonder if this was what it would be like to be big time? Always singing, no breaks for days like he would have when they just played for themselves hoping to make it somewhere. Looks like I've got work other than learning the songs on my hands. He glanced up at his friend who slapped an arm around his shoulders.

"I'm in too much pain to sit somewhere and eat right now," says Yusuke in response to the question the pianist asked. "Let's just get something from the vending machines and call it a night."

"Good idea." Agrees Kuronue.

A few minutes of walking and they locate a machine with a selection of soups and sandwiches perfect for the ride home on the bus. Shoving a few coins in the four of them get two soups and two sandwiches to split. Checking their map they locate a bus station, thankfully, not too far from the recording studio. Taking a seat on the empty bench the four of them quietly finish their meals. When the bus comes they board it a bit confused by the system but they manage to figure it out with a little help from a patron getting off at the stop. Traveling home was another silent, thoughtful, venture for them and up until the moment they said 'good night' to each other and passed out.

The next day.

"We're supposed to do what with all of this..." Hiei trails off looking at a box filled with what appears to be stickers and flyers.

"Self promotion. I thought we went over this our first meeting." Sawada cocked a brow. "You are willing to sell your music aren't you?" He says it in such a way that makes them wince at the hidden incline of 'amatuer band' held within the words.

Hn. As if what we're doing is our music. Thinks Hiei smugly. "Of course we are. Just tell us where."

"Figure it out." His voice is growing impatient. Surely his father doesn't go through this with his new bands. "Think of it as yet another way to get to know the city. You have three hours, don't forget boys."

The four of them walk out of the building onto the street completely disarmed for what must have been the eigth time since arriving in Tokyo. Were big city people always this rude?

Taking the initiative, Kuronue takes out an arm full of the stickers then hands them to Yusuke. Taking out a good wad of the flyers he hands them to Koenma. "Teams?" He suggests.

"Yeah." Says Yusuke looking down at the stickers with their group name on it. Seeing their name written out made it seem so real it was almost frightening. "Come on Koenma." He says assuming Kuronue will pick Hiei as he often does when they pair up.

"I'm taking Koenma." Says the shorter male.

Shaking his head the drummer wags a finger in protest. "Uh uh uh, you'll be messing with the group dynamic if you do that."

"Plus, Koenma is more respondible than Yusuke is and you're more responsible than me." With a shrug he adds. "What would be the point of two idiots going off into the big unknown together? Mischief." He answered his own question. "And we've got money."

"You've made your point." Hiei holds up a hand to silence the guitarist. "You two take up town and we'll head down- here." He takes a roll of masquing tape from the box then tosses it to the brunet. "We'll meet back here in three hours."

Turning on their heals the four man group now parted in two to head off to promote themselves. Yusuke made sure to paste the stickers to any window a teen or maybe kid might see like on the buses- being sure that the driver didn't see him doing so otherwise he'd have to take it off and would probaby be fined for some dumb charge. The window of a couple fast food places were next and one last sticker plastered on the pole of a crossing sign. Koenma was right behind him attaching flyers to light poles and telephone poles, unlike Yusuke who was defacing property at random, the older male asked the people in the shops and stores if he could put his flyer up to ensure they wouldn't just be removed when the owner of the place found out about them.

Hiei and Kuronue took much of the same approach with their methods; the more mature asking for permission where as the immature practically slapped the stickers to peoples faces just to get their attention. He even went as far as flirting with a group of girls who giggled foolishly and took a flyer from Hiei. Feet finally killing him after an hour fourty eight minutes in, Hiei takes a seat on the nearest bench he sees.

"Don't tell me you're quitting already? God help you if we take off."

"When we take off." Corrects the younger male.

Sitting down beside him he looks over the flyers in his hand then stares out into space. He actually felt like he could run all day but then again he had help to get his motor started this morning especially after yesterday when they worked until midnight. A few puffs here and there weren't hurting anyone, and Bayuu is hardly in his carrying case so the smell wasn't gonna irritate the animal. It was actually a miracle he could sneak the stuff on the plane with him and in such an unoriginal way. We all need our fix of something right? Chocolate, sugar period, so there's nothing wrong with a little pot every now and then.

"Something just hit me." Says Hiei straightening up.

"Damn birds."

"Not that. I mean, what Sawada said about selling our music. Its a good idea with advertising when and where we'll be playing but most of the time people don't come because they have nothing to go on but these stupid things." He nods at the items beside them on the bench.

Waving his hand in a rounding motion to tell Hiei to continue.

"So we'll do just that. Sing one of our songs for them to have a taste of it."

"Like a live freebie?"

"Yeah." Pulling out his phone, he dials Koenma's number.

"Problem?" Answers the male after three rings.

"We're going back to the apartment to get our things." He's standing now, gathering the flyers and stickers.

"Our instruments? What for?"

"Advertisement. We're going to sell our music to the people with a live show."

"Uh huh?" Says the brunet not sure how this was going to come together. "And where are we lugging our stuff too? We'll never get it on a bus."

"That's where you come in; you know that woman from the other day-...?"

"Botan." He cut him off with a blush at how quickly he said it.

"Mm. She has a van that can carry our things in the back, we'll have to hold our instruments on our laps but it should all fit if we put it in correctly."

"But what if she's busy right now? She may have work."

Hiei hear's Yusuke's snicker then something along the lines of Koenma dying to see her again. There's a brief scuffle then Koenma is back on the phone.

"I'll call her. She gave me her number before I went in. Said it was for 'incase'."

"Good, call her now our deadline is almost up."

"Will do." He hangs up.

Closing his phone as well, Hiei glances around for a bus stop. Turning his head when Kuronue taps him on the shoulder, the two head up the street to a bus that just pulled in.

"Is everything hooked up right?" Asks Kuronue looking over Yusuke's shoulder as the drummer hooks up the amps.

"Should be." He gives him a thumbs up when the amp is turned on.

Botan laughs at the boys enthusiasm. "You guys are sure fired up. Do you need a cheerleader to bring a crowd over?"

"That's what the mics are for." Says Yusuke before tapping on the microphone to check the audio.

A loud screech alerts a few people passing by but only for a second. Tokyo Dome Park was a good place to do this, Hiei is smarter than he looks. All the couples standing around, single people just hanging out talking on their phones, then there's the gathering of friends just there for the sake of being out of the house. With sound check finished the four of them take their places on the slate and white colored concrete, then with a long strum of Kuronue's guitar they begin to play. The music alerts attention from some people bringing them over to stand closer and listen to the new band play but a lot of them remained where they are more into what they're doing to easily block out the noise. The song is rough and heavy carrying a great distance and then with a taut grab of the microphone Hiei begins to sing.

"komorebi no naka de, kimi wa waratteta." He makes a disapproving face when the mic screeches, tossing a glance back at Yusuke he continued to sing receiving nothing more than an apologetic shrug from the male. "hiza no ue de neru koinu mo yasuraka na kao o shite..."

Botan clapped her hands trying to get some more hype going for them with cheers and waves over to any one who looked their way. "You guys are amazing!" She attempted to shout over the music.

"chiisana hon o te-" Again the mic screeched but he just shook it off this time and kept singing. A real singer is prepared for anything and this is just one of those obsticals he has to deal with. But time and time again it screeches over the music which actually sent some of the patrons to the other side of the park and some of them anywhere else. When people gathered to boo that was when Hiei knew it was time to call it quits.

In the distance a red head covers his mouth with his hand snickering into it. Green eyes watching the group the entire time with interest. They don't normally have people being so bold as to play for a crowd of just anybody. Closing his book, he adjust his clothes then walks past them listening in on their arguement about the drummer not doing a good enough job with setting up the amps.

"Don't worry boys, I'm sure you'll get 'em next time." Says Botan patting poor picked on Yusuke on the back. "I actually think you sounded really good if you look past the audio problems."

"Thank you." Says Koenma, a light blush on his cheeks.

Hiei feels sick enough to throw up. It seemed like such a good idea in theory how could they go wrong with a little public advertisement. But to nearly clear a room, he was beginning to think they'd never be able to pull in enough people to watch them perform on Thursday and they'll be on the next flight out to Kochi before the contract even has a chance to hit the shredder.

"At least we didn't give our name." Comforts Kuronue. "We still have a shot at this thing."

"Think so?" Asks Hiei right before a sandwich nails him in the face. Mouth open in shock at what happened he looks out to see a teen pointing and laughing at them.

"Little shit." Kuronue dashes off before anyone can stop him.

"Brats. Don't worry about them... Hiei." Says Botan in an almost motherly way though she was a bit unsure of his name still. That was all Hiei needed a mothers sympathy from Koenma's girlfriend.

With a disgruntled sigh, he waves them in. "Let's pack up and head back. We still have to record today and we wouldn't wanna be late." Turning around, he cranes his neck for better vision over the passersby until he spots the guitarist. "Kuro! Let's go!" He had to smile at the fact that that brash little shit who tossed his lunch at him is gonna be sporting a black eye for a while after Kuronue hit him.

The taller male jogged over looking more out of breath than he should, once stopping. With a thumbs up he says in boast. "Got him."

The three of them laugh as they pack their things with some carrying help from Botan. But the girl could tell that even with their joking they're still a bit downhearted about what happened.

"How 'bout lunch? My treat? I know this great Thai place not far from here." With a bright smile she adds. "And men are always hungry."

"I could eat." Says Yusuke already mentally sitting at the table.

"We don't have time, sorry. Maybe later on?" Suggest Hiei.

Down about that, she says. "Okay. Later then."

Loading into the van is quiet all the way to KISS tower. The rest of the afternoon they spent in recording until Mr. Sawada told them it was a wrap. The four of them were ready to head out when the man called them into his office for a meeting.

"You wanted to see us, sir?" Asks Koenma when they take their seats on the long couch in the mans office.

"Yes. We need to take time to train you for television."

Hyped up already, Yusuke asks. "Are we gonna be on tv?"

"Not yet but I'm looking for appearance spots soon. Right now everyone is interested in Kuwabara Kazuma and Otsuka Minne. But soon enough 'Noizu' will be the only name on people's lips."

They all seemed pleased with that.

"How did you do with the advertizing?"

"As good as anyone can." Replies Kuronue.

Nodding, Shin takes a sip of whatever it is the man has in a large white coffee mug, then as if it were the most natural thing in the world he looks at Hiei then asks. "How old are you?"

"Sevente-"

Before he can even finish he than asks. "When was the last time you had sex?"

Taken aback by the question Hiei moves his mouth to speak but again is cut off.

"Kuronue?" When the male points to himself Shin asks. "How many people have you slept with? We last saw you with a girl not even old enough to sit at a steeringwheel and she was going into a hotel room with you."

"Huh?"

"Yusuke, how long has your relationship with your mother been strained?"

Yusuke blushed and lowered his gaze.

"Yusuke. That response right there is what paparozzi are looking for. They can make up any bullshit under the sun and if you react to it they'll run to the hills with stories about you."

"Oh you were testing us?" Says Kuronue. "I thought you were nuts for a minute."

"The public doesn't care whether its a lie or not, you're the meal of the week they're gonna eat you alive with every one word you say." His brown eyes are dead serious as he gazes at all of them. "That is why you must be prepared. No answer is good enough for them, there is no silent treatment to ward them off because someone will get you to open your mouth sooner or later."

Taking it all in the four of them silently contemplate how they would answer media questions.

Watching them, Shin has to smile at how hard this group is willing to work for their dream. It isn't like some people who would end up on the floor in a pile of blood and tears because they can't hack it. In truth recording in the studio takes more than three days of work its a long process but none of them have complained yet, at least not that he's heard. Clearing his throat, he says calmly.

"I'm serious when I ask this question. If there is anything that you're unsure of, anything that you think might come out and bite you guys in the ass you'd better speak up now so we can work on a way to spin it so it doesn't seem as bad as it is."

The four of them think it over but nothing comes to mind so silence is the answer.

"That's good. It means you all live clean lives. When you get home I'd like for you all to write me a front and back of your personal lives. Okay?"

"A front to back?" Questions Yusuke.

"Paper Yusuke." Koenma slaps the male on the arm.

"Dismissed." He holds a hand out at the door. "Take a nice break after your writings, and get a good nights rest you've earned it."

The four of them leave the building and take the bus home. As planned, since its only nine o'clock, they have an evening out with Botan. It seemed odd having a strange woman as their somewhat driver but the more they got to know her the more they like her. The Thai was delicious, and being from Kochi they never had it taste like it does here in the city. This night, regardless being out when they should be in writing those darn papers from Shin Sawada but it was really relaxing because, since arriving in Tokyo, they're finally getting to cut loose and let their hair down by going out after dinner to a Karaoke bar.

Clapping her hands to Yusuke's attempts at an old song, Botan looks to Koenma then asks. "So how did things go at work today?"

A little shocked that she suddenly started talking to him he blushes then says. "It was fine. I think Hiei suffers more than any of us since he's singing and we only provide a little back up vocal- Yusuke excluded."

Botan chuckled at that. "When will your cd come out? I can't wait to buy a copy."

"We don't know." Says Kuronue eaves dropping a bit. "But we are playing on Thursday in Ginza I think... Shit I know where but-.."

"Strickly Locals."

"Right, at Strickly. Maybe we can score you a free ticket." Brags the dark haired male.

Hiei shakes his head. "Sawada says we're paying for this first gig. She has to pay like everyone else."

"I don't mind paying, it may not seem like it but I'm very well to do." She grins sheepishly.

"Thank you!" Shouts Yusuke tossing a pillow at his non-listening friends.

"I guess I'm up." Says Koenma.

....................

Saying good night to Botan the four enter their apartment around eleven thirty. Taking an hour and a half on their self topic essays they crashed for the night. Hiei's eyes pop open after ten minutes of listening to Kuronue's shallow breathing. He could swear the guy has asthma to breathe so whisply in his sleep. Falsly drawing in a sleepy breath he exhales it just to see how Kuronue, who has his back turned to him, would react. But the male continued to snooze away. Grabbing his phone from his floor abandoned jeans he heads out of the room, sliding the wooden door over, he closes it back then creeps through the dark living room into the front hall then out the door into the hall. Flipping the phone open he calls his sister then waits out the rings.

"Hiei?" He can tell that she just got up. Which was pretty obvious since its quite early in the morning. "Is something wrong?" Her voice is more alert now.

"No. I just wanted to check in since I didn't call home since arriving here."

"Don't scare me like that. Is fame gonna turn you into one of those brothers that enjoys picking on his sister?" She snickered when Hiei laughed. "Because I'll tell the media that you used to carry a stuffed binky until you were 15."

Calming his low laughter he says. "No Yuki, I'm not turning into one of those brothers- we're not famous yet, talk to me then." He couldn't help but tease her a little. Whether twin or not its a brothers duty to mess with their sister even a little bit. "Is mom alright?"

"She's great, singing a lot more sad songs lately but I think its because she misses you not being within walking distance from the house." Laughing a bit, she says. "Sometimes she'll just say 'I'll bet your brother forgot to bring a sweater or something so he can come back and surprise us'."

"If I get any free time, I'll stop back home."

"Okay. What does Mr. Sawada have you guys doing? Studio and stuff?"

"Pretty much. We're preparing for interviews on radio and tv right now."

"I'll keep the vcr fired up for when you're on."

Smiling to himself, Hiei blew a kiss into the phone. "Get some sleep Yuki. I'll call Mom in the morning."

"Okay. Good night Hiei."

"Good night." Hanging up he goes back inside then quickly nods off to sleep.

The next day, directly after recording, Sawada had them grilled asking every question he could thow at them just by their essays alone. Noizu worked hard each day and when Thursday came around they were ready.