The Gang that Rocks

Chapter VI. Dope show

"Hey, Chizuru-chan, over here!" She turned around to notice Hijikata-san waving a hand. A black microbus parked by the roadside was stuffed with people and equipment. Chizuru was the last member to join. She took a seat near Saitou-san, who was spacing out in his headphones.

Hijikata-san introduced Shimada Kai, the band's driver. Then he pointed at a petite guy with spiky hair who was busy with some items at the back of the car.

"Here's Yamazaki Susumu, our sound director. Mess with him and he'll muffle your sound. Just kidding, Yamazaki-kun! Here's Yukimura-san, our fiddler. But we all call her Chi..." Okita elbowed him and made furious eyes. "Aww... Ehm. You'll be in awe when you hear how we remade our songs with Yukimura-san."

"Nice to meet you, Shimada-san, Yamazaki-san," she greeted them, with a smile and a slight bow.

"Looking forward to working with you, Yukimura-san," Yamazaki-san told her, nodding.

The car moved off heading to the Bar Mile. Chizuru started to feel insecure. It was her first concert with them and she carried a burden of expectations. She had to prove herself worthy of the group. Her eyes were anxiously wandering around the car. Shinpachi-san and Heisuke-kun were smiling and confident as if nothing could confuse them. If not for the dry law she could think they'd already had some strong drinks. Harada-san was looking out of the window with a melancholy expression. Saitou-san seemed to be sleeping in his headphones. Okita met her glance and raised an eyebrow questioningly. She gave him a small smile and turned away to notice Yamazaki-san studying her with a blank face.

Always energetic, Hijikata-san's voice broke her daze.

"It was certainly a good idea to pick everyone up in advance to avoid incidents." He spared a glance towards Shinpachi-san and Heisuke-kun. "Now, the instructions. No alcohol, no shrooms, no brawls." Okita rolled his eyes. "No more forgetting your stuff in the dressing room, right, Heisuke? Play the set and then do what you want. We start with a sound-check, then we have several hours to prepare. Shimada-san will drive our garbage back to the headquarters after Toyotomi finish their set. I've called Kosuzu-chan too, she'll help everyone willing with makeup and shit. Any questions?"

"Let's corpse-paint Yamazaki." Okita proposed lazily. Yamazaki made an inarticulate sound of disapproval. It seemed he was another person who had tough relationship with Okita.

***

R-club was a typical alternative club occupying a plain building on the outskirts of the Bar Mile. What a hole, thought Chizuru observing the surroundings. The difference from Philharmonic hall was obvious.

"Too bad for a proud fiddling girl, mm?" Okita murmured into her ear.

"Not at all," she hissed back, twitching away from him. He had a twisted view of personal boundaries. Or perhaps Chizuru constantly failed at setting them.

The pack filled a tiny dressing room without windows in the technical part of the club. It was densely stuffed with motley furniture, which had absorbed the smell of smoke and old leather eons ago. A vintage lighted makeup mirror fascinated Chizuru. Posters of various bands lining the walls glared down at them.

"Sorry, Chizuru-chan, seems that bastards forgot my request to provide you with your own dressing room," frowned Hijikata-san.

"It's okay, we'll manage it somehow." She didn't want to give him any extra worries.

The day before, Chizuru had had a hard time choosing her outfit. She owned a stack of black conservatoire dresses but they were far too modest for the show. She found it funny that black was a uniform for both the classical and alternative worlds. Chizuru had taken scissors and desecrated one of her dresses, turning it into rough rags with a graduated skirt. She had combined a black tank top and a miniskirt with her creation as the top layer and got satisfied.