Ferris Wheel (A Warriors of Rock Oneshot)

DISCLAIMER: This story is a non-commercial work of fiction based on the anime/manga Samurai 7. Original copyright of Samurai 7 belongs to Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, Hideo Oguni, MICO, GDH, GONZO. Absolutely no monetary gain has been made with this work.

FERRIS WHEEL
© December 24, 2006 By Rory V. Pascual

Shichiroji always wondered what it was that he hated about Ferris wheels. The popular fairground ride certainly did him no harm. All it ever did, after all, was to go round and round and round, an ever-spinning wheel of neon lights that reminded him of the ennui of his life. It did not help any that this particular Ferris wheel was also a giant clock, the seconds ticking away whatever remained of the year and his drab existence as large, glowing red numerals on a black digital monitor.

"If you keep on staring at the Ferris wheel like that, it's going to come crashing down on your head."

He looked down to behold the grinning face of their engineer and resident roadie, Masamune. The old man was hugging a shiny lacquered golden brown acoustic guitar, all tuned up and ready to play.

Kikuchiyo rumbled over to their side. "Don't worry. You'll get your chance to get on it. The Ferris wheel isn't going anywhere. I'll toss you into one of the cabs myself later on."

Shichiroji instantly blanched at the thought of riding that flimsy structure of metal, wire and lights. "You wouldn't dare!"

"Who wouldn't dare what?"

The three men turned to see Shimada Kanbei. Their lead vocalist had changed his flashy stage attire for a simple pair of faded jeans and a sky blue shirt. Affixed to his head like a silver headband was a wireless headset microphone.

It was Kikuchiyo who answered that question. "Shichiroji doesn't want to admit that he desperately wants to ride the Ferris wheel."

"I DO NOT!" the lead guitarist retorted.

Shrugging, Kanbei took the acoustic guitar from the diminutive roadie. "Why? You afraid of heights?" He gave a dubious look at Shichiroji's mustard tank top that bared a great expanse of his washboard midriff. Grabbing the lavender jacket lying on a speaker, he thrust it at the younger man. "And put this on, will you? I don't want your belly button to freeze."

"No, I'm not afraid of heights," Shichiroji grumbled as he jerked the jacket on. "I just don't like them, and don't ask me why. Besides, I could think of better things to do with my time than to ride in a stupid Ferris wheel…" He smiled broadly at the singer, wagging his eyebrows up and down. "…Like I could play back-up, maybe even sing a duet with you. 'More Than Words' would be a nice tune to perform."

"You wish," Kanbei said in clear dismissal of that suggestion. He peeked at the hundreds of fans that had gathered at the Yokohama fairground for the outdoor Christmas concert. One girl spied him and she burst into shrill shrieks. With a shake of his head, the reluctant leader of Samurai 7 said, "I don't think we should fuel their wild imaginations any further. Yuki Eiri is doing a good enough job with those devilish novels of his."

"Oh?" Heihachi approached them, puffing on his chilly hands although he was already wearing thick gloves. "Are Hiroyuki and Tomo finally going to get laid?"

Katsushiro came up, bearing a tray with cups filled with sake and passing them among his bandmates. "That's the rumor that's going around. All the fans are saying that they'll be doing it in Volume Six."

Kanbei let out a snort, his cheeks reddening as he remembered that fateful day in a small coffee shop when he was indoctrinated into the BL world of Lullaby of Cedars. "I'm amazed that they didn't get anywhere in the previous book. Tomo was certainly desperate to get under Hiro's clothes."

"You can't blame the poor guy. He was getting frustrated with Hiro's playing hard to get…just like someone I know." Gorobei sauntered over to them. The rapper was munching on a Bavarian donut while taking sips of steaming coffee from a Styrofoam cup. There was an impish smirk on his face. He took perverse delight in irritating his best friend. "In any case, that's not the rumor I heard. A diehard fan told me that someone else would claim Hiro-sama's buns, not Tomo." He burst into giggles and began squirming in place like a demented earthworm. "Ooh! I hope it'll be Seki!"

"HA?!" The expression on Kanbei's handsome face was priceless – startled, blinking brown eyes as round as platters, and mouth agape so that a fly could buzz in and out unimpeded.

"There's nothing in the storyline that hints of anything but friendship between Hiro-sama and Seki-san," Katsushiro argued in haste.

"That's the storyline now, but you can never tell where their friendship is going to lead," Gorobei countered as well. "Don't forget that Seki is Hiro's confidante."

"What about Koko?" Kikuchiyo interjected. "Even a robot deserves to be loved!"

"Before the robot mascot," Katsushiro began insistently, "the apprentice bard should be the first to benefit from his Master's experience and expertise."

Gorobei grimaced at that remark. "Shota! YUCK!" The rapper shuddered all over. "Hiroyuki does not have a shota complex! He's just as stuck up as Kanbei!"

Kanbei's jaw dropped even lower at that heated comment. "I'm 'stuck up'?!"

The youthful percussionist ignored the singer. "Who are you calling 'shota'? I just turned eighteen last month! I'm old enough to woo Kanbei-sama if I want!"

"Eh?" Kikuchiyo exclaimed, his head tilting from side to side in confusion like a broken metronome. "I thought we were talking about Hiroyuki? Well, since they are the same person after all, I guess there's no difference in their buns. Right, Masanoji?"

"Why are you asking me for?" Masamune commented, as he started to walk away to leave the band members to their silly discussion. "Besides, being straight to the core, I don't have any interest in men's buns."

"Oi, Kanbei!" Gorobei demanded to his poleaxed best friend. "Do you have dimples in your butt like Hiro-san?"

"How the hell should I know?" Kanbei blurted in shock. "I don't look at it in the mirror!"

Heihachi breathed a relieved sigh. "Thank goodness my character is too obsessed with food and revenge to get into any romantic entanglements."

The same could not be said for Shichiroji, whose thoughts were successfully veered away from the Yokohama Ferris wheel. With a worried frown creasing his brow, he mumbled darkly to himself, "I'd better have a long, hard talk with Yuki Eiri-san."

With his mind preoccupied with trying to come up with a convincing spiel to give to the novelist to sway his books' plot to his character's favor, Shichiroji was unaware that a full blown argument had erupted among the band members.

What brought the lead guitarist back to the here and now was Kanbei's cry of "URUSAI!"

"Now this is exactly what I was afraid of," the infuriated singer declared, waving to his bickering bandmates. "You can't separate fiction from reality any more! I am NOT Hiroyuki, and vice versa!"

A light tap on his shoulder. "Excuse me, Kanbei-san…."

Kanbei ignored that tap and continued to rant. "Whomever he chooses to wave his buns to is his business, and not mine! But if he has any common sense in his head, like I do, he'd only give his ass to that guitar-playing closet pervert Tomo!"

Suddenly, deathly silence descended upon them. A pin drop would have sounded deafening in the abrupt stillness. All were staring at Kanbei with mouths gaping wide.

"Uh…Kanbei…." Gorobei cautiously began, although a grin was threatening to form on his lips. "Doesn't Tomo play a lute, not a guitar?"

At that query, the air was shattered by ear-piercing squeals of delight from the predominantly female audience.

One girl was clearly heard to scream, "EEEEEEEE!! KANBEI-SAMA JUST ADMITTED THAT HE LOVES SHICHIROJI-SAMA!!! IT'S JUST LIKE IN THE BOOK!!!!"

Another girl was shrieking hysterically, "LOVE HAS BLOSSOMED IN REAL LIFE!"

Kanbei was blushing so deeply that he looked as red as a roast just removed from the grill. "HEY! I DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING LIKE THAT!" he yelled at the screaming girls. Utterly confused, he stammered, "What the hell did I just do?"

Somehow, despite the din, the sound of an approaching Kyuzo clucking his tongue in disdain was still audible. "Thank you, Kanbei-san, for lowering our band's credibility even more by making that very public statement. By tomorrow, the tabloids will have your love affair plastered all over their front pages." He opened his palm to reveal ten tiny grains of rice. "Here's my contribution for the day."

Heihachi frowned. "You're so cheap, Kyuzo-dono. Couldn't you get much more than that?"

"He should consider himself lucky I'm giving him a few!" the cranky bassist snapped back.

Kanbei fumbled for the tiny leather pouch inside his pocket and pulled on the drawstrings so that Kyuzo could drop the grains inside. The Pre-Encore ritual done, he said cheerfully, "Thanks, Kyuzo! Every little bit helps."

The bass player simply shrugged. "Now go on and earn your keep, Old Fart. Many of the girls out there have rice offerings in cute porcelain teacups. Oh, and break a leg…and I meant it literally."

"As expected from an asshole like you."

"After making a fool of yourself just now, you deserve it. And thanks for calling me an 'asshole', Ojisan. I've known that for a long time." Kyuzo pointed to the microphone hovering above the vocalist's lips. "You'd better watch what you say. Your mic's switched on."

"HAAA?" Kanbei whirled in anger, clamping his hand over the microphone of his headset. "WHO TURNED THIS DAMNED MIC ON?"

The soundman, who was hiding behind the speaker, answered fearfully, "I was telling you that you're set to go on stage. But you wouldn't listen to me."

Kyuzo shook his head. "I don't believe it! Didn't you hear the reverb coming from that stupid headset of yours? I could hear what you guys were talking about from way across the fairgrounds. Maybe you should have yourself fitted with a hearing aid."

"I'M NOT THAT OLD!"

Oblivious to the fact that their beleaguered lead vocalist was on the verge of tears, Shichiroji, on the other hand, was beside himself with joy. "OH, THANK YOU, KANBEI! THANK YOU!"

Before the poor guitarist could even blink, Kanbei rounded on him in fury and shouted, "WHAT ARE YOU THANKING ME FOR? I NEVER SAID THAT I LOVE YOU!"

Shichiroji felt like a large boulder had been jammed down his throat. Shamed deeply by that outburst, the blond wanted to be anywhere but backstage. Despite his aversion to Ferris wheels, he would have gotten on that ride in an instant, just to save face and to get away from the man who had broken his heart.

He barely heard Kanbei's stuttering reply, "Shichiroji…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…."

"What did you mean?" Shichiroji's voice sounded so dull and lifeless.

"Shichiroji…you know…my stint with the band…it's not permanent and…"

The guitarist could not hide the bitterness in his voice. "Yes, I know. We're just using each other to achieve our goals. We're using you to gain fame and fortune. You're using us to prove your innocence and get your kids back."

"I didn't say that!"

"But that's what you meant, isn't it?" Shichiroji's hands dropped to his sides, closing into fists. Why does that damned Ferris wheel seem like it is about to topple on his poor carcass? Why doesn't it just fall on him and be done with it? "Damn you, Kanbei! Can't you even leave me with something to hope for? All I want is…all I want…"

Kanbei jerked back as Shichiroji yelled in his face, "BAKA! KANBEI NO BAKA! BAKA! BAKA! BAKA!"

He then spun on his heels and ran, ignoring his bandmates' frantic cries. Shichiroji did not stop running until his ears caught the wild cheers of the crowd he had left behind. Then, Kanbei's voice came through the loudspeakers.

"I sincerely apologize for that outburst. Please forget everything you just heard, Ladies," he said in sheepish embarrassment. "It was all just a…misunderstanding."

This was answered by a resounding scream of "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"You're damned right it's just a misunderstanding," Shichiroji mumbled resentfully, as he swiped his jacket sleeve over his wet eyes.

Kanbei continued, "I thought I'd sing some of Hiroyuki's favorite songs for you tonight, but since this is Yokohama, I thought it would be nicer to perform some tunes that my family love. We visited Yokohama in the past, and I have nothing but fond memories of this place, and especially this giant Ferris wheel, which my children love so much. I do hope you'll indulge this old man in his maudlin mood."

There were contradictory shouts of "NO! YOU'RE NOT OLD, KANBEI-SAMA!"

A soft chuckle. "Thanks for the compliment, Ladies!" The strumming of the opening notes of Kansas' "Dust In The Wind" on the guitar followed this. And then Kanbei began to sing.

// I close my eyes
Only for a moment, then the moment's gone
All my dreams
Pass before my eyes, a curiosity
Dust in the wind
All they are is dust in the wind

Same old song
Just a drop of water in an endless sea
All we do
Crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see
Dust in the wind
All we are is dust in the wind. //

Hearing that wonderful singing voice, Shichiroji mused that perhaps he was being unfair to Kanbei. If he looked back on his life, yes, his past had indeed been a bleak one, but this was long before he stumbled upon his long lost idol singing an unfinished love song all by his lonesome in a cluttered musicians' lounge.

A small unwitting smile formed on his lips. He could imagine Shimada Kanbei singing solo on that stage, sitting on a high stool as he strummed on the acoustic guitar. The slowly turning Ferris wheel of the Yokohama festival grounds a giant halo of red and green neon lights, which would make the certified public accountant look like one of those Christian saints surrounded by a rainbow aura.

So damned attractive, but so damned unreachable…

"Kanbei, you idiot!" Shichiroji grumbled, a sparkling tear trickling from one blue eye. "How could you be so damned heartless?!"

He was drawn out of his miserable thoughts by the raucous cheering and applause from the concert grounds. Before the applause could die down, Kanbei immediately started his next number.

// An only child, alone and wild
A cabinet maker's son
His hands were meant for different work
And his heart was known to none --
He left his home and went his lone
And solitary way
And he gave to me a gift I know
I never can repay

A quiet man of music denied a simpler fate
He tried to be a soldier once
But his music wouldn't wait
He earned his love through discipline
A thundering, velvet hand
His gentle means of sculpting souls
Took me years to understand.

The leader of the band is tired
And his eyes are growing old
But his blood runs through my instrument
And his song is in my soul --
My life has been a poor attempt
To imitate the man
I'm just a living legacy
To the leader of the band. //

Dan Fogelberg's "Leader Of The Band" – Did Shichiroji detect a tremor in Kanbei's voice as he sang? He would not be surprised if the lead singer was not close to tears as he sang this tender song.

A quiet man denied a simpler fate – It seemed like the song was talking about Kanbei himself, whose life had been marked with so many trials and difficult choices.

Hadn't he chosen to deny the music he so loved to make up for a family tragedy? Hadn't the music he had forsaken suddenly returned and was now his only hope of getting his daughters? Wasn't he now denying what could possibly be between the two of them at the expense of the happiness that his lonely heart demands?

Shichiroji pressed his fingertips to his lips, remembering the pillow-softness of Kanbei's mouth upon his own and the taste of coffee upon his tongue.

"Kanbei, you are such an idiot!" he hissed again, biting down on his lower lip in frustration.

"HERE YOU ARE!"

Shichiroji nearly jumped out of his skin. That boisterous voice could only belong to one person.

Sure enough, Kikuchiyo came lumbering his way, steam belching out of the exhaust pipe on the right side of his head. He stopped before the lead guitarist, bending over as he panted for breath.

"You scared the shit out of us when you ran off like that!" the cyborg scolded his bandmate. "Do you know that everyone's searching high and low for you? I knew I'd find you here! Damn it! You just wanted to get on the Ferris wheel!"

It was only then that Shichiroji realized where his traitorous feet had taken him – right in front of the giant Yokohama Ferris wheel.

"Who says I wanted to go on a stupid ride?" Shichiroji declared hotly, infuriated at being intruded upon. "I just wanted to be alone! And besides, what do you mean 'everyone'? He's not looking for me now, is he? He's singing on that damned stage!"

"Kanbei almost didn't take to the stage because of you! If Kyuzo hadn't forced him, he would be roaming the fairgrounds with us! You idiot! He's a rock star! You know that he could ruin his career by not performing!"

"So what? I don't care! He never wanted to perform with us in the first place! Even if he hadn't performed on stage, it's not a big deal for him! Didn't he do that to Flame twelve years ago?"

A low rumbling growl issued from deep within Kikuchiyo's chest. Raising his clenched fist, he said menacingly, "It's useless talking to you when you're being a fool again!"

Before Shichiroji could get away, he found himself slung in the circle of the cyborg's arm like a petulant toddler. "Hey! What do you think you're doing? Let me go!"

"You need to cool that hot head of yours, and I know the perfect place!"

The guitarist's eyes flew wide as Kikuchiyo pushed his way through the line that was snaking its way to the Ferris wheel. Because of his huge bulk, everyone fearfully made way for him.

As the Ferris wheel loomed closer and closer, long-forgotten memories started to trickle back into Shichiroji's consciousness. Memories of him as a six-year old orphan boy invited by his new cousins on a trip to an amusement park…

"Come on, Shichi-chan! Let's go ride the Ferris wheel!"

A shy inquiry. "Isn't in scary?"

"No, it isn't! It's fun! You can see the whole park from way up there!" An inviting hand. "Don't be scared. We'll be with you."

At once, alarm surged inside Shichiroji and he began to struggle fiercely. "No, Kikuchiyo! I don't want to ride in that damned Ferris wheel! Put me down!"

"Uh, uh!" Kikuchiyo, however, countered, as he stomped up the stairs. "You need to be taught a lesson! One good turn in the Ferris wheel… You need to realize that you've acted like an asshole towards Kanbei!"

"NO! I DON'T WANT TO GO! DAMN YOU, KIKUCHIYO! LET ME GO!"

A gasp rushed out of Shichiroji's throat as he was tossed unceremoniously inside the Ferris wheel's cab. Before he could make a quick escape, the door was slammed shut and locked in his face.

Panic gripped Shichiroji's heart as he ran for the door. "KIKUCHIYO! KIKUCHIYO! LET ME OUT OF HERE!!!"

The angry drummer, however, waved his hand dismissingly. "NAH! YOU NEED A CHANGE OF SCENERY! IT'LL DO YOUR HEAD GOOD, BELIEVE ME!!"

But the guitarist did not hear what his bandmate said. As the tears streamed down his cheeks, he could hear his playmates' words when they had trapped him in a Ferris wheel's cab so many years back.

"Who does he think he is saying that he's our cousin? He's just a poor orphan!"

"We hate you, Shichi-chan!"

"You'll never be one of us!"

Seized by sheer terror, Shichiroji did not see a furious Kyuzo rush towards Kikuchiyo, with Heihachi, Katsushiro and Gorobei running after him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Kyuzo demanded, his hands closing into fists on the collar of Kikuchiyo's shirt. "Shichiroji has a deep fear of riding in Ferris wheels!

"WHAT?" Kikuchiyo stammered in shock. "I didn't know! I…"

Gorobei hurried to the operator. "STOP THIS FERRIS WHEEL NOW!"

"SHICHIROJI!" Katsushiro shouted desperately as he and Heihachi struggled to get the door open.

"LET ME OUT OF HERE, KATSUSHIRO!" Shichiroji cried, pounding on the door. "HEIHACHI, PLEASE GET ME OUT!"

But it was too late. There was a sudden shake, and then the Ferris wheel began to turn, slowly lifting Shichiroji's cab.

Overwhelmed by fear, the guitarist plopped down on a tight corner of the floor, wrapping his arms around his head, knees bent to his chest. In his terror-filled mind, he could hear the jeering laughter of his former playmates.

"ORPHAN! ORPHAN!"

"No…."

"YOU'LL NEVER BE ONE OF US!!"

"No!"

Then there was that gentle voice. "Shichiroji…you know that my stint with the band is not permanent."

"No! Don't say that!"

As he squeezed his eyes shut, Shichiroji could see Kanbei give him a tender smile as he turned around and began to walk away.

"Kanbei, no! Don't leave me! I don't want to be alone! Please don't leave me all alone! KANBEI!!!"

"SHICHIROJI!"

There was a scream outside, and the cab shook violently, causing Shichiroji's stomach to give a nauseating lurch. Before the guitarist knew what was happening, the door of the cab was wrenched open and he was enveloped in strong but gentle arms. Slowly, he raised tear-filled eyes to behold that handsome face he never expected to see.

"Shichiroji!" Kanbei exclaimed. His questions came out in a rush. "Are you all right? I was so worried about you that I had to stop performing midway through the encore to look for you. Why are you crying? Are you hurt? Oh, Shichiroji! Please say something!"

At first, Shichiroji could not get his mouth to work. All he could do was to stare in awe at the dark depths of Kanbei's gray brown eyes. When the vocalist cupped his face and brushed away his tears with his thumbs, the spell that was cast by his painful childhood memories was broken. With a heart-wrenching cry, he flung his arms around Kanbei's waist, burying his face in the older man's belly.

"I thought we were going to ride the Ferris wheel together. I thought they were going to be my friends. But they left me all alone!" Shichiroji burst into renewed sobbing. "I don't want to be alone ever again!"

"Shichiroji…"

"Everyone always leaves me! My mother left me in the orphanage. Even my foster parents' feelings towards me changed when they had their own baby. I know you'll leave me too once you get your kids back. But why? Why can't I stop loving…even if I know I'll be all alone in the end?"

Shichiroji knew how pathetic he must have looked, bawling like a child. He struggled to regain a semblance of control, but the wall he had erected around his heart had broken, releasing the pain he had held for years. There was nothing he could do but to ride the turbulent waves of his emotions, even if he knew that it would drive away the man he held in his arms.

In his distress, Shichiroji did not realize that Kanbei had gently eased him onto his lap, his brow pressed to the older man's left shoulder while his right hand gripped the right. What eventually registered to him was Kanbei's singing voice, piercing the gloom that shrouded his mind and heart.

// Long awaited darkness falls
Casting shadows on the walls
In the twilight hour I am alone
Sitting near the fireplace, dying embers warm my face
In this peaceful solitude
All the outside world subdued
Everything comes back to me again
In the gloom
Like an angel passing through my room

Half awake and half in dreams
Seeing long forgotten scenes
So the present runs into the past
Now and then become entwined, playing games within my mind
Like the embers as they die
Love was one prolonged goodbye
And it all comes back to me tonight
In the gloom
Like an angel passing through my room

I close my eyes
And my twilight images go by
All too soon
Like an angel passing through my room. //

Again and again, Kanbei sang that tender lullaby by Abba, rocking the blond and rubbing his back soothingly until his sobs subsided to soft hiccups.

What brought Shichiroji back to the present was Kanbei's amused chuckle, which was threatening to explode into a full laughing fit.

Glaring at the vocalist through tear-swollen blue eyes, he asked, "What's so funny? You're not laughing at me, are you?"

Kanbei's laughter stopped as a choked cough. "No, not at you. It's the décor of this damned cab. Whoever decked this thing up must be desperate to get laid this Christmas."

Shichiroji turned his bleary attention towards the cab's questionable décor. The sides and ceiling was covered with dark green plastic vines with bright red poinsettias. Amidst those red blooms hung hundreds of sprigs of mistletoe.

Slowly, the blond moved upwards until he was facing the older man. He whispered, "Or maybe the guy who decorated this is a pervert like me."

Kanbei's husky answer before Shichiroji's mouth closed over his was "Yes, perhaps he was."

The guitarist pushed the, for once, willing singer against the seat, as his tongue insinuated itself between Kanbei's full lips. Their heated tongues clashed, as they tasted each other's warm, moist depths – Kanbei's bitter coffee, Shichiroji's sweet chocolate, the caffeine in both stimulating them to a frenzy of passion.

Urgent fingers fumbled with Kanbei's shirt. As the garment came loose, Shichiroji yanked it down to the crook of Kanbei's arms, making movement difficult. Kanbei's exhalation was a sweet gasp of pleasure as Shichiroji took a turgid teat between his lips and suckled upon it like a hungry babe.

"Shichi…roji…." Kanbei muttered the younger man's name in broken syllables with every teasing nip and lick on his sensitive nipples.

Somehow, he managed to get one arm free, and he proceeded to undo the zipper of their jeans. It did not escape the blond's notice that prudish Kanbei was not wearing any underwear this time. As he continued his lingual homage upon the singer's breasts, Shichiroji watched through one squinting eye as Kanbei took both their erections into his hand, rubbing and grinding them together until they were as hard as iron.

"Shit, Kanbei!" Shichiroji groaned as he thrust his member into the older man's palm. "I can't hold it any longer!"

Kanbei's answer was to pull the guitarist close to him, saying "Then let's come together."

One jerk, two jerks, and then with lusty cries, they reached the peak of desire, their glistening fluids spattering their heated bodies.

For a long while, they just sat on the floor arm in arm, listening to their beating hearts, which seemed to have become a single organ.

Shichiroji saw the patch of wetness at Kanbei's crotch. "Oh, I'm sorry!" he exclaimed, pulling out his handkerchief. "Let me clean you up."

Kanbei, however, embraced him and whispered something in his ear. A small smile curled up the corners of Shichiroji's lips, a blush pinking his cheeks. With a sigh, he leaned into the warmth of Kanbei's body and took a little nap.

~~~~~~~~~~

Thirty minutes later, Kanbei was frowning at the huge crowd below that had gathered around the Ferris wheel.

"Now, what is everyone doing here?" Kanbei muttered worriedly. "And what's with the expression on their faces? It's like having hundreds of barn owls staring back at you."

"Tell me, Kanbei," Shichiroji inquired. "Just how did you get on this Ferris wheel anyway?"

"I jumped of course. Your cab was already fifteen feet in the air. How else was I going to get on?"

"News of your heroism must have spread throughout the fairgrounds." The guitarist could barely suppress his giggle. "It's just like a scene out of Lullaby of Cedars. Hiroyuki goes to the rescue of his beloved Tomo."

Kanbei snorted in disgust. "I did nothing remotely heroic. I wouldn't have broken my neck if I fell from a height of fifteen feet. Besides, you were crying like a baby with your weepy mug plastered to the window. What else was I supposed to do?"

"Excuse me," Shichiroji put in dryly. "I wasn't 'crying like a baby.' More like a 'weeping damsel in distress'."

"Well, don't go running off again. A man my age shouldn't be doing stuff like that." The lead vocalist looked closely at the crowd as their cab slowly descended. "They're probably pissed after I walked out in the middle of a song to look for you. But…no, it couldn't be that. It looks like they're waiting for someone."

It was then that they finally caught sight of their bandmates, waiting for them at the Ferris wheel's platform. Kikuchiyo was waving his arms wildly. What perplexed Kanbei was seeing Heihachi and Katsushiro standing as stiff as logs, all red in the face. Gorobei was grinning like a lunatic, flashing two thumbs up.

Grimacing, Shichiroji mused, "He sure seems happy about something."

It was a scowling Kyuzo who supplied the answer to their query. The color instantly drained from Kanbei's face, seeing the bass player point to his cheek. Shichiroji turned to the singer, his shocked blue eyes focusing on the headset microphone. The mic's arm had been pushed up to the side of Kanbei's head.

At once, Kanbei fell to his knees, hiding behind the door so that his eyes, the top of his head and his fingertips could only be seen. With his face as red as a tomato, he exclaimed, "Oh crap! Oh crap! Oh crap!"

"So they heard us?" Shichiroji said the words out loud. "So what?"

" 'So what'?" Kanbei blurted out in shock. "My rep is ruined!"

"And what rep is that? Don't forget you're an accused money launderer!"

"Everyone knows I'm innocent of that. Damn it! Now everyone thinks I'm a pervert, just like you!" Kanbei let out a moan. "What if my kids find out about this? Shit! Kirara's going to kill me! She's going to stop acknowledging her poor Daddy!"

Shichiroji let out an exasperated sign as the cab came to a halt on blessed ground. "Don't worry! I'll take care of this."

"You'd better," Kanbei said in bitter resentment, a pout pursing his full lips. "You're the reason I got into this mess in the first place!"

Kikuchiyo yanked the door open. Instead of answering his bandmates' concerned queries, Shichiroji strode towards the edge of the platform to face the waiting crowd. Kanbei was expecting the lead guitarist to say that absolutely nothing happened between them on the Ferris wheel.

Shichiroji, however, had other plans. Cocking his chin up proudly, he raised both his arms high above his head, flashing victory signs. His happy grin stretching from ear to ear, he exclaimed triumphantly, "YEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!"

At that confirmation, cheers and screams exploded from the crowd that nearly blasted the Ferris wheel off its moorings.

The blond simply tilted his head sideways as a headset microphone missed his temple by a mere centimeter. His ears were still ringing with joy at the whispered words of a sweet promise.

"Even if I should leave the band," Kanbei had said to him, "I'll never leave you alone. I'll always be here for you."

Out of the corner of his eye, Shichiroji saw Kanbei walk out of the cab, his shirt yanked out from his jeans to hide the incriminating evidence. Although visibly irritated with the guitarist's antics, Kanbei still managed to throw the blond a warm smile.

As fireworks lit the Christmas sky with a shower of multicolored lights, Shichiroji thought in sincerest gratitude, Thank you, Kami-sama, for Ferris wheels and headset microphones!


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