Guardians

Chapter 1-2

Reika’s fingers caressed the strings so swiftly and elegantly it seemed as though the music was an incidental bonus. He had the poise of a harpist at most times but then there was that hint of attitude when he bent into a slap solo that-

“Kai winked at me! Did you see it?”

Sighing, Mei set aside her cola and took a small bite of the cake she and the girls were sharing in celebration of Guardian’s successful first solo concert.

“What makes you think it was at you?”

The twins were almost unbearable in their obsession with Kai and constantly argued over which of them he was more enamored with.

“He was looking right at me!”

“It could have been either of us.”

Really, they were insufferable sometimes. Mei hated to point out the obvious but sometimes it was the only way to console herself. “Or he was winking at the people behind you, or next to you, or no one in particular, for that matter.”

“Maybe it was both of us, but it definitely was us!” Hidemi’s eyes narrowed as she spoke and Hideko mirrored her sister’s indignant pose. “At least Kai knows we exist. Reika doesn’t even look at you.”

“Reika doesn’t look at anyone. He doesn’t need to buy my affection,” Mei retorted with a roll of her eyes. Sometimes she wondered why she bothered hanging out after shows like this. When it came down to it, the only thing she had in common with most of these girls was that they had all been present at Guardian’s first live performance ever.

Mei, Hidemi, and Hideko, were three of seven girls who had followed Guardian religiously since that first twenty-minute appearance at a hole-in-the-wall club in Shinjuku. Most of them had been attracted by the tiny but pretty faces printed in a corner of the flyer advertising that show. Mei, her old friend Emmi, and the youngest of the group, Naomi, had been there to watch other artists and had been subsequently captivated by Guardian’s performance. As they all continued to follow the band, they had naturally formed a clique that persisted even as new fans emerged. It was the only group Mei had ever really felt a part of—she just wasn’t sure if that was a good thing.

“Well, that’s true. Reika could just stand there like a perfect statue for all I care and I’d still love him,” boasted Kaori. Though a fellow Reika fan, Mei felt the least kinship with the skinny, long-haired socialite who probably couldn’t appreciate good music any less if she were deaf.

“Could you be more shallow?” The insult came from Yuka, whose resemblance to Kaori could almost add a second pair of twins to the group but for her honey-colored hair and slightly less frail figure. Yuka was decidedly a fan of Guardian’s drummer, Kirin, and regularly boasted of the unique edge his unconventional beats brought to the band.

Kaori huffed. “It’s not shallow to be attracted to beautiful things. Tell me he’s not the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen and I’ll shut up,” she challenged.

Before Yuka could respond, Mei decided she couldn’t listen to the pointless conversation any longer without reminding them of the real issue. “Of course he is,” she agreed. “He’s also a musical genius. That’s what really makes him stand out.”

“He’s a bassist,” Naomi pointed out. Though her love of Guardian was indisputable, Naomi was one of those fans who could barely see past the vocalist looming over her regular front and center position, and if she had to acknowledge any further contribution to the band of her own volition, it was usually in regards to the secondary melody-maker, the guitar.

Mei didn’t bother addressing her response to Naomi, lecturing the other girls instead, with special attention to Kaori. “An amazing bassist—and composer—and you all heard him sing at that special event last month. He’s got such a rich, gorgeous voice...” Mei could tell she was losing the girls with her looming diatribe of Reika’s merits but she just wanted them to understand, to see in him what she saw in him. Surely they would agree with her! Reika was so talented in so many ways. If he were to start a solo career...

Disheartened by the bored looks on faces that said they were now listening to her rant-in-the-making out of a sense of polite duty, she finished up with one last, weak effort. “He could take on any part he wanted to.”

“Well, obviously, he wants to be a bassist, and that’s fine with me,” Hideko replied as she sunk her fork into the dwindling strawberry short cake. “Kai is Guardian’s vocalist and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

That was the cue for Emmi to speak up in favor of her own most beloved member. “Same; with Naoki on guitar. I mean, could anyone else bring those melodic solos alive?”

“Not to sound too cliché here, but let’s not forget Kirin,” Yuka reminded them all.

“How could we forget the best drummer on the planet?” Hidemi agreed with a wink and a tinkle of laughter that had the girls united once more.

“Those tribal drums,” Hideko hummed.

“Those stormy cymbals!” Yuka enthused.

“Those killer biceps—I mean, swing beats,” added Kaori.

“You were right the first time,” Yuka returned with a wide, conspiratorial grin.

Were they all so oblivious as to what made Guardian truly great? How could they not see it? How could they be so focused on the surface elements that they couldn’t recognize the true genius behind the music? Reika’s skill was wasted on such blindness.

“Mei, it’s not that we don’t appreciate Reika’s talents so don’t scowl like that.” It was Naomi who cut into the flippant giggles in response to Mei’s gradually souring expression.

“I can’t imagine Guardian without Reika, either,” promised Emmi.

Mei didn’t respond, instead choosing to keep her peace. She did, however, offer the girls a conciliatory nod and accepted the last piece of shortcake that was offered up to her by Hidemi. Sometimes they seemed terribly shallow but perhaps that was just a front, put on for the sake of being accepted into the hive-mind. One way or another, these girls had all stuck by Guardian from the very beginning and were the closest thing Mei had to best friends.

Later, as she crammed into the crowded subway train after parting with Emmi and Yuka at the transfer, Mei reached into her skirt pocket, her fingers closing on the treasure hidden there. The pad of her thumb traced the frayed edge and her index finger skimmed the roughened face of the pick. It had been used well before Reika had discarded it. Mei harbored no illusions that this keepsake had been intentionally lobbed her way—Reika hadn’t even looked up as a careless flick of the wrist sent the pick sailing past several rows to be caught in Mei’s grasping hands. Yet Mei knew it was meant for her; a special prize from fate to reward her devotion to a man destined for greatness.

As the crushing mass jostled and shifted with each motion of the train, Mei braced her left arm for balance against another passenger while she kept the pick gripped protectively in her clenched right fist—tucked firmly inside her pocket. She wouldn’t risk losing such a treasure. She had the perfect little box for it at home, and there it would stay, as memory and inspiration.

~*~