Visual Kei

Closing my right eyelid, the gel eyeliner slid on easily. I blinked, relaxing. It wasn't perfect, but then again, my eyes weren't perfectly the same, either. I felt like an asymmetrical freak, even though I have been told multiple times that no one is perfectly symmetrical. I'm probably some kind of mutant freak. I can't wait until another arm starts growing out of me or something.

There was a knock on the door. I rushed to put my makeup back into my purse, walking quickly to answer it. My only friend, Tiger, was standing in my doorway. I motioned for him to come in while I gathered my school crap. He closed the door, the chains on his blue Tripp pants jingling like metallic bells. Luckily for me, my dad was still asleep, passed out from all the beer he drank last night. He didn't like Tiger, primarily for the fact that he was black, but not to mention the way he dressed and the music he liked.

"Your makeup looks great, Alice," he commented with a grin. I thanked him, grabbing my Calculus book and rushing out the door, slinging my purse over my shoulder. Only when we got out of the apartment and onto the sidewalk did he begin to talk. "Everyone keeps talking about a new student."

"It is a bit unusual for a student to be coming to a crappy school like ours," I commented, "and our school is a major sausage fest." Tiger smiled his teeth perfectly straight and white, luminous against his ebony flesh. I smiled, too, replaying my words over and over in my head. I imagined what my face must have looked like, and couldn't stifle a chuckle.

"Yeah, it's true," he agreed. "People at our school are making this into something much, much bigger than it should be. I guess if we are getting a new student, that I hope it's a hot Asian chick!" I rolled my eyes, unconsciously timing my steps in rhythm with the jingling of the metal rings on his pants. I tripped on a crack in the sidewalk, prompting a laughing fit from both of us. We laughed uncontrollably for a few minutes and I almost peed myself.

"Are you okay?" he asked, helping me up. "That actually looked pretty painful, man."

"Yeah, I'm fine." I grinned like an idiot. "Thanks."

We continued to school, laughing about my clumsiness the whole way there. Upon walking into school, we saw a crowd of students, surrounding something. I rolled my eyes, Tiger and I going to the Art room to drop off my project. As Tiger was checking out the other projects, I talked to Mr. Banks, the Art teacher, about my project. Our conversation was cut short as a herd of students surged toward the room. The door opened and for the first time in a long time, I was completely surprised.

Jin stepped into the room, sighing a bit.

My mouth was open. I didn't know what to say or even if I should say anything. Tiger was staring, too, but he was better at hiding it. Jin seemed to be looking at me, a smile on his face. The Art teacher moved toward the door, looking out of the shatterproof windows, at the majority of the student body that had been following Jin.

"Sushi, the ladies' man!" Mr. Banks called playfully, as if he'd known him all his life, indicating Jin with a playful smile on his face. "Looks like you won't have any problems finding a girlfriend."

Jin smiled at me, but said nothing.

I turned away. Soak it up, mofo. I thought. I heard Mr. Banks talking, probably saying more about Jin's "fan club". I tuned it out, examining my art project for any last-minute issues.

"Alice?"

I looked up immediately, an involuntary response. Jin was standing a few feet away, staring at me. Irritation flared up again, but was quickly quelled as I realized how elementary I was acting.

"What?" I asked stiffly.

"I didn't know that you went to this school. Perhaps we will have a class together."

I felt my stomach twist at the thought. "Yeah, maybe." He was quiet for a time, watching me draw. It made me both proud and self-conscious. I could sense that he was at least somewhat interested in what I was doing, although it seemed like he wanted to say something, he just wasn't sure what. "What class are you?" I asked to fill the silence.

"Sophomore."

I looked up in shock. Jin was only a sophomore? He looked at least a senior, by my standards. Now that I looked at him again, he seemed even older. His ethnicity and many other factors gave him an ageless look, as if he were stuck between late teenage years and adulthood.

"I'm attending college here," he explained.

I nodded, showing him my student ID. With any luck, we would have a class together. I was taking college courses for an advanced-placement program. His hand unconsciously went to the nearly-identical ID around his neck. He fiddled with it, like a freshman would do. I smiled to myself, putting the pencil down and examining my art. Tiger moved to be next to me and look at it, too. I handed it to Mr. Banks.

"So you know Alice?" I heard Tiger ask from somewhere behind me. "I'm her friend, Tiger. It's nice to meet you."

"I am Jin. It is nice to meet you, also."

I stapled my essay papers together, handing them to Mr. Banks.

"Are you a Living Forgery fan? You look so much like the singer! It's awesome. Man, how do you pull it off? You even sound like him!" Tiger was fangirling everywhere. If he were a girl, he probably would have assaulted Jin sexually.

"Yes, I suppose you could say that," Jin chuckled.

"Kiiro is amazing!" Tiger repeated, as if making certain that he had heard. "I think Tsurara is my second favorite..."

I rolled my eyes at Tiger, opening the door and pushing my way through the tide of students that wanted to get a piece of Jin. Literally. Most of them moved aside for me, what with my reputation around school. I pushed some girl's luggage-bag sized purse out of my way. The guys followed me as I headed to my first class.

It ended up that Jin and I had all of the same afternoon classes. How's that for irony?



After the final bell rang, I shoved all my books and notebooks into my locker. For once, I didn't have homework. I went to Tiger's locker next. He was blasting LM.C through cheap headphones. His locker was decorated, unlike mine. It had plenty of anime drawings and Visual Kei posters. There were little comments in Sharpie and some duct tape over the slats so that no one could put anything into his locker. I always said that decorating a locker would be too much effort, only to take your stuff out at the end of the year, but in a way, I envied his openness about how different he was. He handed me a Versailles Philharmonic Quintet hoodie.

"Happy early birthday," he said with a smile. "I hope it's not too big."

I smiled back and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you so much!" I put it on right away and it was a little loose, but otherwise, perfect. I rolled up the sleeves and spun around like a dork.

He laughed, shutting his locker. "I wasn't sure if I should get that one, or the Girugamesh one. It was a tough choice. Glad you like it, though." We walked down the stairs, to the entry doors of the school. We were standing outside, talking with acquaintances. I scanned the crowd, like I usually do. It was pretty amazing how high school students always manage to group together in cliques. Each clique took up about the same amount of space as the next, with some groups converging together. As I was looking around, I noticed Jin coming out of the school.

Like I should have expected, he was surrounded by all types of girls imaginable. Everything from the school skanks to the straight-laced nerdy girls. I was disgusted at the way they followed him, like sheep. I couldn't stand people like that… the kind that feed off of the popularity of others. I was spared the nuisance, as they scattered when he neared me.

"Nice hoodie," he said in his quiet, deep voice. "I like that band, also. I have met them."

"I'm so jealous!" I said, pouting. "I wish I could see them in concert, but to meet them? You are so lucky, Jin. You must meet everyone."

He grinned. "Not really. I could hook you up with one of them, if you want."

"What?" I gasped, my eyes going wide with amazement. "Are you really that intimate with Versailles?"

He smiled. "Yeah, we're pretty good friends. So what is it going to be? I think you and Kamijo would look really good together, though if you're into more… feminine ones, I think I remember that Hizaki was free, too."

"No thanks. As awesome as that has the potential to be, I don't do hook-ups," I said. "Besides, it's always so awkward when people try to hook their friends up. I mean, what if you hooked me up with someone I was related to? That would be really awkward…"

He laughed heartily. "That would be strange, indeed. Ah, did you hear? Fear Factory will be performing around here within the month. Would you like to attend?"

"I love Fear Factory. I couldn't ask you to do that for me, though."

"What if I want to?"

"Well, then, I guess I can't stop you… but please don't."

"Why not? You want to go, don't you? I want you to go, too."

"But tickets are always so expensive. I could never pay you back for that."

"Who said you have to pay me back?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well-"

"That's right; I'm buying you a ticket. You aren't going to complain, are you?"

"No, I'm not complaining, I'm just-"

"Then this discussion is over," he interrupted with a mischievous smile on his face. "Let's walk home together, Alice."

"Actually, do you want to come over today? I'm free." He nodded. It seemed to only take a few minutes for us to arrive at the complex. I opened the door to my apartment.

"Make yourself comfortable. I'll get some soda. I hope you don't mind Coke products." He shook his head, sitting down on the couch. I reappeared from the kitchen with two glasses of Coca-Cola. I handed him one, taking a sip from my own glass. "Sorry, it's nothing much."

"Thank you."

"So, if you don't mind me asking, what's your story?"

He took a sip and set the glass aside, fidgeting with his student ID tag again. I wondered if he would ever tire of that thing. It seemed as if he wouldn't say anything for a long time. I waited, patiently allowing him to reply when he was ready. The angular planes of his face were as perfect as ever. I wondered why he was here, with me, instead of with some better, prettier girl.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"What was your past like?"

"There's really not much to it," he said modestly, shaking his head with a smile. "It's not nearly interesting enough to speak of."

"Please? I want to hear it."

Jin chuckled and seemed to become a little more comfortable around me. "Well, I suppose if you want to hear about it that badly, it wouldn't kill me to tell you a little bit.

"In truth, I've been in America for about three months, but it has taken me quite a while to find a place that I'm comfortable with living in. This apartment seemed to suit my needs for a decent price, and it is very near the places that I need to go. I would have stayed in Japan if I had the choice, but being in America is required for my job."

"What is your occupation?" I had to ask. Again, he contemplated his words very carefully. I began to wonder if he would tell me at all. Maybe he works for the government, I thought distastefully. Or maybe he's an assassin. I could have fun with that.

"I am an ambassador."

"A Japanese ambassador to the US?"

"Nope."

It confused me, but I didn't want to continue probing him. He didn't want to speak of it, not yet at least. I nodded, pretending to understand, to some degree. He looked down, the glare of the sun hitting his glasses. I wished I could see his eyes. Eyes could tell me what he wouldn't say vocally. It was this about Jin that was the most mysterious.

"I am sorry. If I am offending you, please tell me," I said as gently as I could, which was probably about as gentle as an axe murderer.

"You are not."

We sat in silence for a moment. I let the emotions in the room slide over me, the fingertips that were my conscious mind tasting and sampling each one. I sensed the obvious first: tension, sorrow, and distrust. Then I sensed other emotions. Emotions that I couldn't understand. I had never felt anything like that before and I have only felt that emotion from others like Jin, and even then, rarely.

I looked at him. He was looking down, possibly at his hands, or possibly just anywhere but my face. Why was this so difficult for him? Jin looked nervous, like he was about to tell me a very dark secret. Maybe he was searching for a delicate way to word it. He sighed, his position relaxing a bit.

"I'm only telling you this because I think I can trust you… My roommates are in a band with me," he mumbled, his voice tinged with what seemed like disappointment. Again, there was a long pause as he tried to form his next statement. "Do you remember how your friend said something about recognizing me?" I nodded. "In that, he was not mistaken."

I was speechless.

"You're joking."

Well… kinda speechless.

He shook his head. I examined him thoroughly now. I had seen many pictures of Kiiro, the vocalist of the Japanese band Living Forgery. He was my absolute favorite musician (the only one I would fangirl over) and it was extremely difficult for me to believe that I was friends with him. Everything, now that I thought of it, everything was exactly the same. He had the same piercing, build, facial features; even his clothes were the same as some of the pictures I had seen. How could I have not seen it before? I breathed in calmly for a few moments, trying to contain my bubbling excitement.

Smoothing my expression, I said tightly, "I don't believe you."

"Perhaps you would like to meet the others?"

"Uh, sure," I stammered nervously. I followed him up the stairs to his apartment, watching the way the chains on his pants fell across his butt, trying to gauge how it must look in tight pants. Nice butt, I thought with a silent laugh. He dug around in his pocket for his key ring and unlocked his apartment. He brought me in, locking the door behind him. It was like a mirror of my apartment with different furniture.

There was a large sectional couch and a few black beanbag chairs around the large TV. There were posters of other bands, their tours, and DIO tours hanging on the walls. Taking a hesitant step toward the center of the room, I looked at the wall that I had entered from. It was basically a giant mural of Japanese folklore. Dragons and other creatures were painted all along the wall in a great sort of migration. It was beautiful and detailed, to the scale. I gasped.

"Chino is a painter," Kiiro said casually. He observed the painting as well, but left much sooner than I. I completely forgot that he was even there until he asked me if I wanted anything.

"No thanks," I replied absentmindedly.

"Kiiro?"

I looked, surprised by a new voice without warning. Immediately, I looked away, embarrassed. A guy who I assumed must be the guitarist, Rei, was standing in his boxers at the open bathroom doorway. Looking at the floor, I turned toward the mural. Must not look at Rei, must not look at Rei, I repeated to myself as the redness in my cheeks intensified. I heard light footsteps toward the kitchen.

"Who is that?"

"What the Hell? Put some pants on, man."

"Sorry. I woke up and I didn't expect to have visitors, much less those kinds of visitors."

"She is not here for that."

"Then why?"

"She is a friend. Her name is Alice."

"You can pick the girls, man. She's really cute!"

I heard a string of cursing in Japanese as something fell and hit the linoleum. I could tell that it was Kiiro by the somewhat gravelly roughness of his voice. He was speaking quietly and heatedly to Rei in Japanese, so I couldn't catch everything, but I did recognize part of it.

"…I'd rather not… and no, that is not why I brought her here." Now Rei spoke. There was a pause. Kiiro spoke again. "Yes, it's difficult for me to control it, even now…. of course I want her! Only a fool would say otherwise."

My Japanese was not at par with fluency, but I doubted that I was mistaken… but could he possibly have said that he wanted me? No…

"Hello, Alice, you may join the kitchen if you want," Rei called in English, with a noticeable accent. His English was good, but not perfect, like Kiiro's was. I walked toward the kitchen, stopping in the doorway. "Excuse me for keeping you alone."

"Yes, excuse us," Kiiro repeated emphatically.

I looked at Rei for a moment, to take in his looks fully. He was not wearing makeup, his hair was flat, and he was wearing boxers. His hair was an auburn-brown shade and although it was clearly unnatural, it looked good. He had round-almond eyes and a small "button" nose. His face as a whole was somewhat feminine, with a gently curving jaw line and a full bottom lip. He had high cheekbones. He was thin, but not grotesquely so. From some of the professional pictures, I had wondered if he truly was a girl. My fears were quelled.

"I am Rei. It is pleasing to meet," he said, bowing his head slightly toward me. I wondered if the little exhibitionist would put on some pants, at least.

"My name is Alice. It is nice to meet you, also."

"Now that you've shown Alice your skinny body, why don't you put some clothes on?" Kiiro demanded jokingly, shoving him out of the kitchen with a playful smirk.

"That's no fun," Rei sulked with a wink at me. I smiled unwillingly and blushed at the attention. Rei disappeared down the hallway and Kiiro into the living room. The smell of steaming rice filled the kitchen. It was so clean in here… for as many men as there were living here. How unlike the rest of the men I knew. I stood there a little awkwardly, unsure of where to go.

Luckily for me, Kiiro sheepishly reappeared in the kitchen a moment later, multiple beer bottles in hand. As he was about to dump them, Rei appeared in the kitchen as well (clothed this time), and rushed to stop Kiiro before he could dump the last of the bottles. Rei scowled at him, taking the bottle in his hands tenderly as if it were his child. He put the bottle to his lips and tilted his head back as far as he could.

"There is still a little!" he insisted at Kiiro's expression, swirling the last few drops for emphasis.

"Rei loves beer," Kiiro explained as I watched him attempt to wrestle the bottle from Rei's hands. It was quite a show. Eventually, Kiiro managed to get it from him and he watched helplessly, like a little kid being taken away from his parents. I laughed a little. "Don't worry; we'll go get another case when Chino gets back. Shinji wants to go somewhere, anyway."

"I smell rice," Rei said spontaneously, momentarily forgetting his lost love. He smiled, going over to the rice pot. Inhaling the steam, he sighed in delight. He returned to me. "Can you play instruments, Alice?"

"Only guitar and piano," I replied uncertainly. I couldn't remember the last time I played piano. It had been a long time. My mom had sold it a few weeks before leaving… I shoved the thought away, and focused on Rei's twinkling eyes. He looked like an anime character, his eyes liquid copper.

"I want to hear you playing guitar!" Rei exclaimed excitedly.

"No way!" I was nervous enough just standing here in the kitchen of my favorite band, much less playing for them? I tried to hide it by looking down, but that definitely didn't help. Rei smiled at me, saying how cute I was, thinking that I didn't know any Japanese.

"Do you want to hear it, too?" he asked Kiiro.

"Yes."

Damn it.

"Come on, Alice, it will be fun! I have never had a girlfriend who could play guitar."

My face must have hosted some sort of strange expression because Rei looked extremely uneasy, and looked at Kiiro. "Wha…?" he said aloud, looking to him for an answer. Kiiro explained that "girl friend" and "girlfriend" were two completely different things in English. Rei looked confused still, but bowed a little and looked apologetic. "I am very sorry. Please excuse me, I did not mean for it to sound like that, I meant…"

"He has not had very many friends that are girls, so he is socially inept at times, especially around females. Please excuse him, Alice," Kiiro explained, turning on the range. He pulled a pan out of the cupboard. It was so odd to be watching my favorite singer cooking a meal… just like I did every day. For some reason, it was like a contradiction, but I couldn't really explain that thought.

"Come on!" Rei exclaimed happily, tearing me from my thoughts and dragging me to his room.

"Rape!" I called, but Kiiro just laughed.

Rei continued to drag me down the hall and into his room. It was much like mine: messy and random. He had multiple guitars and a few Metallica posters along his walls. A box in the corner was partially opened: it looked like a gift from a fan, perhaps. In the box was a g-string with Hello Kitty on it. I laughed for at least ten minutes, and Erina blushed and kicked the box under his bed. It looked like many other objects in his room had followed the same procedures.

"This is my IBANEZ seven-string," he said with pride. I admired the new sheen. "I played this at the lives in Texas. I ordered new guitar. I like the look of V-fly guitar, but they are not good. They have nasty sound." He took the IBANEZ and handed it to me. I had never played a seven-string guitar before. This would be… interesting.

I held it like I would hold my classic Fender Strat at home, but there was an obvious difference in weight, not to mention shape and sound. The neck of his guitar was noticeably wider. It was broken in and had an amazing sound. I simply used my fingers, I was used to that. I played many songs for Rei. I lost track of time. He sat there and watched, and listened. He seemed as absorbed as I was. Of course, I felt awkward, like Jack Black trying to show up Stephen Lynch. It just wasn't going to happen. I was much, much less talented than Rei and I think we both knew it.

Nevertheless, I played what I could. A little death metal, gothic, transgressive, and random other things. I played a riff that I personally wrote. Rei seemed to like that one the most, although it wasn't the most elaborate.

"You are very good."

"I'm sure you're much better than I."

"How did you learn?"

"I learn all the songs by ear."

"That is why you are good. People who pick up a guitar without soul end up reading tabs. It is not a real guitar player. The real musician can learn songs just by listening to them."

I wasn't sure what to say. I nodded, he had said that in a way that was almost moving. I realized that Rei was extremely sweet despite the party-animal front that he had. He smiled at me genuinely, his teeth not perfect, but still glittering white. Something about him was beautiful, more beautiful than it should be. I realized that when he dressed up and wore makeup, he was probably prettier than me.

"Would it be okay if I play for you, Alice?" he asked.

"It's your guitar, silly," I replied, handing him the IBANEZ. We both smiled. Pick in hand, he began to strum the guitar. I watched as his fingers blurred along the neck of the guitar, a haunting melody pervading the room as he swept the strings with the pick. It was both beautiful and piercing, as most of their music tended to be. As much as the homophobic men in America liked to cut down these androgynous men, anyone had to admit that Rei was effing amazing.

His instrumental solo continued for a good three minutes and the speed at which his fingers moved never slowed. It was quite a feat. He ended it with a chain of pinch-harmonics and hammer-ons.

"That was beautiful," I said, as soon as I could find my voice.

"It makes me happy to hear you saying that."

"Hey!" Kiiro called from the kitchen. "The okonomiyaki is done."

"Kiiro would not tell you this," Rei began, setting down his guitar softly, lovingly, "but he is very good cook. He makes the best food I have eaten, even more than my mother. When we lived in Japan, he would make tako and California rolls. If you do not like sushi, please tell."

On the kitchen counter, there was a plate with a small pyramid of sushi rolls. The bottom row looked to be plain musubi, the second tier probably octopus, the third was squid, and the top tier was California roll. I stared at it. I had only eaten sushi once or twice in my life. It was too expensive to make into a habit. Yum, raw fish wrapped in sea grass.

"Shinji and Tsurara will be home late today, they are talking with the studio about a new single release, probably marketed here first," Kiiro explained, his calm voice betrayed by his restlessness. "There will be a new photo shoot for the lyrics sheet. It will probably be tomorrow or the day after, but the manager is talking about it with the company."

Rei perked up.

"That's great!" I agreed excitedly. "People will be looking forward to a new CD release."

"I am hoping that is the case. We have established quite a fan base in the United States so far. We are very happy about that. I don't think we have any lives planned yet, and we don't exactly have the time for it, either," Kiiro admitted, his voice a bit gloomy. "It would be nice, but I doubt we will tour within the next year. We will have to perform locally if at all."

"There aren't very many Visual Kei fans in this area, either, unfortunately," Rei added. "It's difficult to please narrow-minded ones of American."

Before I could say anything, the front door opened and I heard someone say, "iraisshimashita". There was a metallic sound as whoever it was dropped his keys into the dish by the door. Rei disappeared into the other room to greet them.

"Chino!" Rei greeted, "we have a visitor!"

"A visitor?" Chino inquired with his voice soft and curious. He appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. I smiled and bowed a little bit. He did the same. "I am Chino, it is pleased to meet." His English was even worse than Rei's.

"I am glad to meet you, too. I am Alice."

"Kiiro brought her here, they met yesterday," Rei explained to Chino. He had a bad habit of thinking that I didn't understand Japanese. I feigned confusion; perhaps I could learn more by feigning ignorance. "Isn't she beautiful?"

Chino flushed, his gaze sliding unconsciously to me. "Um… yes, I suppose she is." He tried his best not to look at me. "How did they meet? Did Kiiro tell you?"

"No, he is keeping that much to himself."

"I see. Perhaps he is attracted to her?"

Both men giggled in a cute way.

"Maybe, but they haven't known each other long enough to tell."

"She is quite pretty and I cannot blame him for being attracted to her, but he should be aware of his limits. Does she know of the… habit?"

"No, I don't believe so."

"Do you think he plans to tell her?"

"I don't know. It doesn't seem like-"

"Please stop speaking Japanese around Alice. It is rude, when you can speak just fine in English, too," Kiiro admonished in English. Both men flushed and apologized to me right away.

"It's okay. I wish I knew more Japanese; that way, I could make you more comfortable to speak with me. Is it easier for you to speak in Japanese?" I asked.

"Yes," Rei and Chino answered together.

I stared at Chino, taking in his features.

Like the others, he was thin and built, his arms were second only to Kiiro's. Chino was the drummer, his whipcord arms reflecting his position in the band. His face was masculine, with a definite, squared jaw line, a gentle curve to the bridge of his nose, lips that looked always a little bit pursed, and severe, almond eyes accented by the classic diagonal Visual Kei eyebrows. Though severe, his eyes were intelligent and catlike. His hair was teased and layered, but not straightened. What surprised me was the color. It was mostly blonde, but the underneath was brown. I was used to the pictures of him with his natural brown hair. He stood in a way that was confident, but not domineering. He was a few inches taller than me, but not much more.

Noticing my speculation, he smiled and nervously played with his lip piercing.

Why was it that all of these hot men were too old for me? Not to mention with the lip piercings. I was trapped in an apartment with five super-sexy guys that were all too old. This really sucked.

Rei and Chino already had their rolls of sushi and were eating. Kiiro was finishing the tonkatsu, but I assumed that he would be eating as soon as he finished it. It smelled absolutely delicious. Rei was probably right, Kiiro was one of the best chefs. He smiled to me, adjusted his sunglasses, and insisted that I sit and eat.

I took a California roll and began to nibble on it. Rei was right; Kiiro did make some delicious sushi. The seaweed was toasted and the rice was cool. All of the ingredients were fresh. This sushi was easily the best I had ever tasted, even better than most of the local restaurants. Kiiro watched my expression and smiled calmly. I wanted to smile, too, but I thought better of it. Even the most beautiful woman's smile would be disgusting with fish particles in her teeth.

As soon as I finished, Shinji and Tsurara came back to the house. They filed through the door, announcing their presence as Chino had previous. Unlike Rei and Kiiro, they were fully dressed with makeup and their hair was done, too. They appeared in the kitchen after Rei jumped up and exclaimed that they had a visitor, just as he had done with Chino.

Tsurara seemed aloof but relaxed with his daunting, elegant, and feminine beauty. "I am Tsurara" was all he said to me. I wasn't sure whether or not it was meant to be rude, but I assumed that it wasn't. He gave me a small, closed-mouth smile that was model-gorgeous. It was sad when a man was more beautiful than you.

Shinji, right beside Tsurara, was almost the opposite when it came to first impressions. His round, almost childish face was bright and excited. He smiled a cute, innocent smile, which was both conflicting and complimentary to the rest of his appearance. "Hi, I'm Shinji."

After a few moments, where Tsurara and Chino exchanged some sort of rushed conversation in Japanese (while Tsurara held his gloved hands stiffly at his sides), and Rei and Shinji sat comfortably, nonspeaking, Tsurara retreated to what I assumed must be his room. Because Shinji was the newest in my line of sight, I decided to take in as much detail as I could of him.

Shinji was a very innocent looking man, almost childlike in appearance. He had the same ageless appearance as the rest of them. His hair was so big that an 80's rock star would be jealous. He had what could be described as an "Asian mullet", but it hardly looked bad. His hair was blonde. His face was the roundest of all of the men, and his features were rounded and almost delicate looking. His lips were similar to those of Kiiro's, but his lower lip was fuller. He had almond eyes, both mischievous and innocent. The bridge of his nose was the flattest of all, with a very mild slope and small base. He was the only one without piercings.

"Alice," Shinji said, "you have pretty eyes. I am jealous."

"Thank you," I replied, unsure of what else to say. I had been told many times that my eyes were pretty. I was the only Japanese girl that I knew to have green irises. Like I said before, I must be a mutant.

"Shinji, are you still up for going out tonight?" Kiiro inquired, turning off the range and flipping the tonkatsu onto a plate. "You and Tsurara have had a lot of stress today."

"Of course. I would never pass up the chance to go shopping! Especially now that they have that Japanese toy store in the mall," Shinji replied, an endearing smile on his face. "I'm hoping to get some new Gundam models!"

"While you are in the toy store, I want to get some beer," Rei insisted. "I may try a new kind. I should be trying all kinds. After all, I am a connoisseur." Rei closed his eyes and smiled, imitating a French accent as best he could. It was kind of pathetic, but also disastrously adorable.

"If you are a connoisseur, you should not be drinking beer," Chino said. "Don't connoisseurs mostly drink delicious alcohol, like wine and liquor?" Everyone laughed.

"Shh, we shouldn't be talking about alcohol around the young one!" Shinji joked, glancing swiftly at Kiiro. "Ahh Kiiro, you will be old enough soon! I will take you to a bar so you can try whatever you want. Rei agrees, right?"

"That's an unsettling thought," Kiiro replied, ignoring the fact that I was actually the youngest in the room while grabbing a roll of octopus sushi. "I don't know if I trust you to be taking me to places like that, Shinji, especially when Rei agrees so full heartedly. We know something is up then."

"You should try," Chino agreed, with a smile on his face. "I am thinking it will do good."

Kiiro said nothing, but he ate the octopus sushi slowly. He was facing a little away from me and it was impossible to tell if he was looking at me or not, but it seemed like he was. I didn't feel uncomfortable or anything, but I was curious. It was strange. He lived here with these four other men, and he still hadn't taken off his sunglasses.