Part I: Wishes work in a ed up way

chapter iii: meeting the devil

Takanori couldn’t sleep last night; the girl dressed in black kept hunting his dreams and the stress provoked from the unwritten song was too much for his already bothered mind to  handle.

Sleep seems an abstract thing to him now. He feels like a creature of night that just can’t close his eyes, that can’t ignore the alluring and sensual dance of the shadows around him that call him to them, beg him to join them.

He isn’t attracted to the red haired, not one bit, but he can’t deny that he is curious about her persona and what role she may have in writing the much despised love song. He isn’t stupid not to connect the pieces of puzzle and to realize his wish has been in some way or another granted with her sudden appearance in his life.

He ruffles his hair and takes one more whiff from his cigarette before crushing it with his foot on the ground in the balcony. He exhales and takes in the beautiful scenery ahead him, the way the sun makes his way to the sky ready to shine upon a world that doesn’t deserve warmth nor light, the way the sky is so dark yet so luminous. The way the moist air enters his lungs and leaves behind a certain burning.

He goes back into his bedroom and looks for some clothes to dress in. He chooses a plain black and red t-shirt with some tight grey pants. He combs his hair a few times and puts his glasses on, takes his bag, his pack of cigarettes and his keys before exiting the spacious and way too big just for one person apartment and heading down to the parking lot within the building (a convenient aspect of the building for him as it keeps the fans and unwanted paparazzi away) and to his car.

He starts the engine and smiles as it purrs like a kitten.

A new day waits for him the moment he escapes the cage of bricks, metal and dollars.

---

Cassandra Tanaka doesn’t enjoy waking up at unholy hours in the morning when she is supposed to enjoy the luxury of sleeping in a queen sized bed in a fancy and expensive pent house in the heart of Tokyo.

But it seems that her body isn’t used yet with the hour changes.

With a disapproving grunt she throws the blanket on the floor and makes her way to her bathroom.   Splashing some cold water on her face to shoo away the sleep from her eyes and taking her toothbrush, she prepares for a new day she hopes will be better than the one before. Picking some comfortable clothes from her walk in closet, which were obviously black, she makes her way to the kitchen to grab some bread. Multitasking has always been one of her talents so eating and putting her clothes on wasn’t such a big deal for her anymore; back in the days when she had to do this every day no matter how tired and beat me her body was, this was a dreadful and hard task for her but now it’s just a simple routine she has yet to abolish.

Maybe, she will learn how to act like an ordinary woman in her late twenties again.

Maybe, just maybe, she will.

----

Playing with the car keys, Takanori keeps nodding his head in response to the greetings he receives from the company. His neck hurts but he doesn’t want to look disrespectful to the others-not that it really matters to him how other view him anymore but he wants to work in harmony.

Producing music was his own way of escaping reality and if being polite will help him confine himself in this perfect world than so be it.

---

“I’m driving right now, dear brother. You sure it’s a good time to call me?” Cassandra playfully replies to her hyperactive brother who, from what she deduced, can’t wait to see her again and spend the day with her and his baby, as he calls his company.

“Oh, don’t say such a scary stuff, lil’ sis. It’s not as if we have never done such thing before. “ Cassandra only chuckles and continues to drive her way to the P&S company—she has told her brother before that his decision in choosing a name was poor but he ignored her every time—careful not to do any reckless moves and spill the coffee she has brought not long ago for both of them. She is more than sure that Caleb is just as tired as she is and is in need of some strong caffeine to keep going through the day.

“Any plans for today?”

“Not really. I just want to see what I am doing every day for living, you know”

She remains silent and doesn’t say a thing.

“I’ve got to go now, sis. See you in a few minutes, okay? Drive safe!”

“See you”.

She ends the conversation not waiting for his replay and throws her cell phone on the seat next to her, just beside the coffee.

She has a feeling that today is going to be extremely interesting and full of surprises. And she is never wrong.

---

“Oh! Takanori! I didn’t think you would be up so early and ready for work, nevertheless.”

Takanori looks up from the still blank piece of paper and at the surprised looking man he identifies as Caleb and nodes in response.

“Yeah, well, sleep just didn’t show me any love last night. Not my lucky day, I guess”

Caleb laughs then briefly looks at his watch before some profanities escape his mouths and pollutes the air around them. He excuses himself and rushes down the hallway as if death is on his tail.

Takanori just shakes his head and chuckles at his boss’ behavior. He is such a child sometimes that it surprises him every time he realizes he had given birth to this company on his own.

He stretches his body a little, trying to cast away the numbness that found its nest in his body and glares daggers and the poor piece of paper that just doesn’t fill with words.

It’s maybe the first time he has such troubles writing a damn song. He hopes from all his heart that it is the least for he won’t be able to keep up with the stress and insomnia provoked by it. He yawns just as the door of the re-creating room swings open and, like animals, the rest of s enter, full of live and laughing at some inside joke. They stop and just stare at him when they sense the dark feeling the room has. 

"You okay there, buddy?" Ruki merely nods at Reita and looks back at the piece of paper that laughs at him. He picks up the pen and---

-the door swings yet again and this time, two person enter. Ruki is able to recognize Caleb who is dodgin some punches from a petite woman who is-surprise!-the redhead from the other day. Oh hello there, karma, ruki says in his head with a sarcastic tone,  care to tell me just what the are you planning?

All the eyes are focused on the pair of bickering siblings as they continue fighting ignoring everyone in the room. After a few good minutes they stop and Caleb sprouts and "oh!" and his face flushes red as a tomato while the woman just look uninterested at them. "Ahem, right, guys, sorry. This is so rude of me" he looks at his companion and shoves her a little, making her take a few steps foreward, "my dear, dear younger sister that has come all the way from Sweeden." 

Ruki looks at the woman, eyes glittering with interest and fascination, as she raises her hand and waves a grin tugging at her lips. "Cassandra's my name. You must be the, um, "babies" my brother's most proud of. It's good to finally meet you."  And as her eyes search the room, they stop on him and she smirks, as if she has just found something worth her interest.

And ruki cannot help but return the gesture and light a cigarette, never once breaking the eye contact between them. 

"Hello."

oh, this is suicide

but you can’t see the ropes