TheEternalElegy

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“Damn it!” Eiji smacked his hand against the side of the bus, which gave a loud metallic thwump. Sometimes the guy was careless about his strength. “The engine’s shot.”

I stared at him, folding my arms across my chest. “Meaning?”

“Meaning,” he gave me a pointed look, “we’re stuck here for the night.”

I scowled. “Damn it.”

“Exactly.”

I glanced back at the others, all looking tired, but only from the excitement of our last show. The fact that it was two in the morning had nothing to do with it. Jun was leaning against the bus somewhere behind me, filing his nails last I checked, unruffled as ever. Sometimes I envied him for his composure. Kiyoshi had gone inside the motel, the parking lot of which we were now stranded in, and I had a feeling he was flirting with the person behind the front counter. Sanyu and Yasuki were standing to the side, playing a hand game that I hadn’t witnessed in over two decades. How they still remembered it was beyond me. And Hikaru, Hikaru was reading a book nearby Sanyu and Yasuki with his hip cocked and one fist perched on it. His eyes flit across the page quickly, almost unnaturally so. However, natural was a very relative term, so perhaps I should rephrase that.

“So, what’re we gonna do?” Eiji looked expectantly at me, raising a blue eyebrow.

I raised one back at him. “Rent a room, I guess. ‘S not like we have anywhere to be, right? We just finished our last show, and the next tour doesn’t start for another two months.”

Eiji grumbled unhappily, “So much for that nice vacation.”

I gave him a friendly slap on the shoulder. “Oh, don’t be so negative! We can still have a nice vacation, we’re just gonna have to rough it here for the day. And maybe the next. I don’t know; I’m sure we can get the bus fixed soon. And then it’s off to the Big Banana!”

“Apple.”

“Right. I was testing you.”

Eiji shook his head at me, probably not doubting that I really had been testing him. I ruffled his blue cockatoo hair, which was starting to flatten. He shrugged me away, and then stepped up through the open bus doors. I could see his shadow moving behind the illuminated tinted windows. He was probably getting his things to take into the motel. I looked down the length of the bus, admiring the elaborately decorated side that was visible in the yellow light from the motel behind us. Hikaru had designed most of it, with his vast artistic prowess. In big gothic letters was the name “Sang et Vin,” and around it the gothic theme was reciprocated in sweeping lines and sharp angles. There was a cross somewhere in the artistically tangled design, and our names were in white Japanese characters beneath “Sang et Vin,” stark contrasts to the forest of dark colors and nightmarish illustrations.

A hand landed on my shoulder, and I glimpsed long black nails and pale fingers against my claret vest. Glancing back, I met Hikaru’s eyes, and he smiled serenely at me. His makeup was beginning to wear, the once precise red wings spanning from the corners of his narrow eyes smeared a little. His lips were still purplish, though the natural pale pink was beginning to show through. I smiled back at him.

“So what’s up?” he asked.

I gestured at the motel behind us. “We’re spending the day here. Maybe we can call someone to get the bus fixed.”

“Maybe?”

“I mean, we will, but you know… dunno how long it’s gonna take.”

“Ah, all right. So, should I go rope Kiyo away from the concierge?”

“No need, my love!” Kiyoshi spun around us, taking Hikaru and pulling him from me. “She said that she has a few free rooms we can rent.”

I nodded. Eiji was getting down off the bus as I turned around and brushed past him, collecting my own things. Most of the necessities were already packed away in a certain bag (you know, cell phone, mp3 player, toothpaste, toothbrush, makeup, pajamas, a few fresh outfits, my teddy bear…), and pulled it out of my cubby, slinging it over my shoulder. As I got off, the others got on and gathered their own things. Once we were all ready, Eiji secured the bus, giving it a final, loud pat before joining us on our way inside.

The lights of the motel were gratingly bright, and I shielded my eyes as we walked through the glass doors. There were a few people in the lobby, and I saw them stare at us like we were freaks on parade. Which we probably seemed to be, with our flashy colors and dominatrix-esque outfits… okay, so maybe “dominatrix” was too strong a word, but we certainly had enough leather and chains and exposed skin to turn heads. Well, Sanyu was an exception—he had more lace and frills than leather and chains, but certainly the fact that he was wearing a dress made up for it. As we approached the front desk, I saw the concierge’s eyes widen. She spared Kiyoshi a nervous smile, and he wiggled his gloved fingers back at her in a flirtatious wave. He leaned against the front desk, pushing his guitar case further onto his back out of his way.

“Hey love, got room enough for seven?”

“Y-Yeah,” she replied, her blue eyes flitting from face to face and her cheeks reddening slightly. “Um, I can give you four two-person rooms, or two four-person rooms… I’m afraid we don’t have seven free single rooms, but—”

“Two,” I interrupted, “two four-person rooms would be fine.”

She continued to smile uneasily, tapping away at the keyboard in front of her, and then turned and grabbed four keys, two per room, I supposed. “E five and E six, second floor.” She handed the keys to Kiyoshi, and he took them with a wide grin, spinning away from the counter and heading towards the elevators. I took some money out of the inside of my vest, paying for our rooms.

Then we followed our exuberant band mate, who pushed the up button and waited for the doors to open.

“Well?” Eiji prompted, looking at me.

I nodded. “We got two rooms, four people per room. Eeeeeee,” I grabbed the keys from Kiyoshi, checking the numbers, “five and six. Second floor.”

Eiji nodded, satisfied. He adjusted his instrument strap on his shoulder, looking around the lobby restlessly. We were still garnering stares from the other guests. Eiji’s unease was understandable; he always liked to have a good handle on his surroundings, but Kiyoshi and I were the only ones who were fluent in both English and Japanese, having lived in America for the better halves of our childhoods and grown up in Japanese families. The elevator dinged, and the doors spread wide for us. We got on, toting our baggage with us, and arrived at the second floor not too long after that. It was more peaceful up here, as most of the guests were tucked away into their rooms for the night. Well, it was two—no, two-thirty in the morning.

We moved down the hall, our footsteps muted by the diamond-patterned carpet under our feet. Of course the other noises, the jingling of our outfits and the jostling of our bags, rushed to fill the silence. Eventually we found our rooms, divided ourselves up, and disappeared to put our things away. Kiyoshi, Jun, and Eiji were my roommates. What an interesting group I had—the loudest, the quietest, and the most high-strung. And then there was me, who was probably a combination of all three.

“Oi, Aki, what bed do you want?” Kiyoshi asked me, dropping his bag onto the bed farthest from the door, followed more carefully by his bass.

“I’ll share with you,” I said, shrugging and setting my things by his.

“All right. So, what’cha guys wanna do tonight? I’m sure there’s a bar nearby.”

Jun shrugged, perching gracelessly on the edge of his bed while exuding all the grace in the world. He crossed his legs, the overhead lighting catching on the silver buckles zigzagging up and downs his knee-high boots, and leaned back on his hands. “We could always just watch a movie, or something.”

“Ah, you’re no fun.” Kiyoshi pouted at Jun, crossing his arms huffily.

“And you’re a child,” Jun returned, his voice even and cool. “I’m wiped from the last show; I’d really just like to stay here.”

“Fine, then me and Aki and Eiji will go find a bar. But don’t come crying to us when it’s nearly dawn and you’re hungry.”

Eiji demurred, taking his bag and disappearing into the bathroom. He probably shared Jun’s position, and was taking off his makeup and changing into his pajamas. While he loved the glamour and adventure of our musical lives, he also valued the comfort of just lounging around. It was a good thing for him that our fame paid well, so that he was frequently able to do just that.

Kiyoshi turned to me, his last hope. “Akiiii, wanna go out with me? I’ll give you a kiss!”

I rolled my eyes at him. “Sure. Let’s go see if the others wanna join.”

We said our farewells to Jun and Eiji, and then turned into the hallway. Kiyoshi rapped on the other door. “Oi, y’wanna head out with Aki and me?”

There was a chorus of declinations from inside, and Kiyoshi deflated with a despondent sigh. “Guess it’s just you and me.”

“Well don’t sound so excited,” I deadpanned.

He put a hand on my shoulder and began steering me down the hallway, his previous melancholy completely erased from his expression. “Ah, you know I love you Aki-chan!”

I pressed my blue-painted lips together, and said nothing. He laughed at me, and I whapped him on the arm.

When the elevators opened for us, we were met with the presence of another. He stilled in whatever he’d been doing and stared at us, and I marveled at the green of his eyes. Kiyoshi stepped onto the elevator, pulling me with him, and only then did I realize I’d been doing just as much staring as the stranger.

Said stranger turned to us as the doors closed again and held out his hand. “Hey there.”

Kiyoshi offered him a flirtatious smile and took his hand. “Greetings. I’m Kiyoshi, and my zombie of a friend here is Akihiko. Just call him Aki, though.”

The man seemed taken aback at Kiyoshi’s sudden introduction, but smiled nonetheless. He had really straight teeth, and they were white, too. His lips were pretty. His face was pretty. “I’m Devin.”

I waved a wordless hello. And—wait, did Kiyoshi just call me a zombie? I sniffed and glared at the back of his head. I think he felt it, because a second later I was faced with his famous apologetic grin, which wasn’t unlike a puppy dog pout. The dark lines around his eyes and the thin black tears drawn down his cheeks did nothing to hinder the effect, nor did his matching dark lipstick. His makeup didn’t seem to be wearing at all.

The elevator was dinging then, and the doors opened. We all stepped out, said our goodbyes to Devin, and left the motel in search of a meal. Hopefully we’d find a bar where someone was drunk enough to sate our desire for alcohol.