"its been months and you wont even tell me which school you go to"

It wasn't as if Mahiru was going to start living the life of a fanatic-turned-stalker, but he just felt as if Kuro didn't label him a person worthy of trust. He leaned back on his chair as he sent the message, neck craned over the top of the backrest, his eyes fixed on the pale blue roof of his bedroom. It was already October, and a chill lingered in the air as if it couldn't wait to paint the world white with falling snow. Not that snow was as fond of Tokyo as it was of Hokkaido.

It's been a little more than two months since the live show, and Kuro and Mahiru have been chatting regularly within said period of time. The brunette had to admit he was reluctant at first, sending a message to someone who was obviously in a higher state of society than he was, but the vocalist countered his question once simply by saying they weren't really that busy yet. It made Mahiru smile, and he went ahead to joke about getting abandoned when the time came.

He knew something of the sort would happen soon, although, he didn't exactly like the way Kuro was responding less and less everyday. It wasn't in his right to be as self-centered as this, but they were already more like friends than 'fan and celebrity', which was why it irritated him when his much-needed answer came as a dodge to his inquiry about what was happening.

"don't bother. it'll appear on various sites come the time my face starts appearing on bilboards"

"wow ok"

"don't stalk me."

"im not stalking you"

"use apostrophes"

" (￣.￣) "

He laughed at their playful banter. Before he could finish his message, he received a short text from the other end of the line.

"brb"

"ok"

But that was the last time Mahiru's phone lit up with a notification from Kuro that evening.

"hey, lets meet up! havent heard you sing live since the show."

"just watch our videos"

"live is a different thing -_-+"

A small interval, then a bunch of consecutive messages;

"ok, sure, jamming at my place sometime.

"it's not a big place but we'll be fine with acoustic. you sing?

"maybe not. just hold the guitar. too lazy to play, myself, anyways."

Mahiru knew he couldn't play any instrument, but the idea of having a small jamming session with a voice that had ripped off the ears he had initially unwillingly lent spiked his adrenaline, sending it teetering over the ledge of impulsive decision-making, was invigorating. He typed up a reply containing his agreement and enthusiasm.

"SURE!"

"just hit me up when you're free"

"what if youre not free by then tho"

"it'll work out ig."

When Mahiru watched the conversation end, it was the moment he realized he was in an absolutely dire situation. He didn't even know the basics of handling a guitar.

Sakuya felt a hand clamp on his shoulder, and he looked over it to determine whether or not he should start dialling 110. Seeing his friend instead of a mugger with a classic black eye mask on like some cartoon burglar wannabe, he grinned and turned around completely, allowing Mahiru's hand to slide away in the process. The latter looked as if he was going to admit he was Spiderman, or that he needed help winning senpai's heart, and although both choices were amusing enough, he'd rather have a superhero for a best friend than turn into a modern slice-of-life superhero saving his best friend's lovelife.

"Ok, what's cookin'?" he asked.
"Alright so," Mahiru started, picking on the zipper of his open jacket. "I asked Koyuki and Ryuusei, but they said you were the best person to ask this from."

The hell was he on now, Schoolgirl Syndrome? If he was going to confess, he should hurry up already, the tension was a little too much. The sunset plus school corridor combo was a perfect setup. Whatever it was, it better not be money. Or professional help and advice. Sakuya couldn't even fix his own problems, but he couldn't help giving people his so-called words of wisdom when they looked like they needed it. It was sort of a reflexive response already, so technically, God and his staff in the sinning system couldn't exactly draw another stick next to his name for the number of times he'd lied.

"Spill it, sister." he coughed out, crossing his arms, his eyebrows shooting up his forehead but his grin never quite finding the audacity to step the fuck off his face. "Sorry, I meant, mom."
"Teach me how to play the guitar." Mahiru replied, his hands now hanging stiffly at his sides. Sakuya blinked.
"Excuse me- you want me to...?"
"Well, I just recently got interested in it, so I thought I'd learn, myself. Just the acoustics are fine, though, I don't really need-want- the fancy stuff yet."
"Oookay? But man, I never expected you to actually ask me that!" he added, his usual humorous tone surfacing, which, he knew, was annoying in serious situations such as this one.

Well, he didn't exactly know how serious this was, but there was something in Mahiru's expression and tone that betrayed the fact he was keeping secrets. And Sakuya didn't really like that, but he automatically agreed, asking questions frivolously rather than asking why exactly the way he wanted answers to be given as well. The two of them took the usual route home, and as he waved goodbye to his best friend, he wondered for the hundredth time this week if Mahiru was just lying to him about wanting to stay friends until after college and beyond. If he turned out to be just another Client he'd be better off cutting ties with at the end of the job, though, well, Sakuya wasn't exactly sure how to handle it yet.

They began their guitar lessons that evening through their phones.

Kuro released a sigh.

Whatever he was doing, he knew he wasn't meant to in any away. The kid looked as if he was the kind to concentrate on his studies and go home immediately after classes. Well, not exactly, but he probably wasn't the type to run around lugging an instrument and a limited amount of pride. What was he thinking, getting involved in someone else's life like that? He sure as hell didn't want to babysit, nor did he want to get his face misaligned again; that would be a lot of trouble, and a whole bunch of medical bills-

"Yeah." he muttered to himself, his eyes focusing in and out, his lack of actual sleep getting to his system. It's been two weeks since he had invited Mahiru to jam with him in this cluttered, morose apartment, but the boy hadn't messaged him about it yet, simply proceeding to act as if nothing was exchanged between them. He was probably pressured, but Kuro hoped he was reevaluating his choices and opinions, realizing how absolutely stupid it was to waste your life away talking to a shut-in. Well, a vocalist kinda shut-in.

He rolled over to his side as his phone let out a little beep, and he chided himself for feeling giddy, as if he was a child expecting a text from his mom about a trip to Disneyland. Although he didn't exactly have much of it, his enthusiasm seeped out of his very bones and flew out the heavily-draped window as he set eyes on the message preview. He knew what was coming.

He opened the chat, and, sighing one last time before he snatched his jacket off the headboard, locked the door shut knowing he'd be out for a longer while than it would take him to read an entire dictionary. Well, atleast reading a dictionary doesn't require you to make decisions. In a split-second of grevious premontion, he wished Hyde were here to argue with the others instead of him.

"We need to talk. About the future of Sloth."

the final section with kuro... i was spacing out while writing the entire thing. man, it was, well, written in my "off-time" in writing, but whatever. i hope it's still okay, and same routine, comment and vote if you enjoyed or have anything to say about the chapter! thanks~