A/N: Hey, y'all! If you haven't checked out my profile, I'd just thought I mention it here! Before starting the next book for The Duties of a High School Guitarist, there were a lot of mistakes or errors that I made in these chapters that I wanted to go back and fix. I also wanted to make sure that y'all got the clearest picture of this kinda complicated plot XD So, I'm going back to make sure there isn't any really questionable description or some weird context that was supposed to help move the plot...

Anyway, I'll be updating this real quick since I did a head start like usual! I'll update with the new edited versions of these chapters throughout today and tomorrow. So don't be surprised if you get alerts . (Can you get alerts for replacing a chapter? Eh, whatever)

Happy Reading to those who just joined!

~Delyth

The Duties of a High School Guitarist

Chapter One

"Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet."—Jean-Jacques Rousseau

"Nee-chan!" Twin oceans slid over to the left at the sound of her sister's voice, the raven-haired and pale-skinned beauty rushing towards her full tilt. She barely had enough time to brace herself before Kyoko tackled her with all the strength of an elephant herd stampeding. Their hair tangled and meshed together as Mari desperately tried to reassert her balance but to no avail. Papers scattered and books clattered to the floor in a loud crash that had other students pausing to stare at the wreckage. "Why didn't you wait on me?"

A firm mouth thinned in irritation as tan arms fumbled to shove the thin and petite girl off. White platinum curls yanked and pulled against ebony a few moments before pearly fingers untangled them with delicate patience. Emerald crescents lightened in apology but were offset by the million-dollar watt smile fanning across a pixie face. Had Kyoko not been her many reasons of putting up with half the things that irked her, Mari would have thrown in the towel long ago. Instead of bopping her on the head like she wanted to, the tomboy climbed to her feet and began to gather her scattered notes. Why couldn't her sister be quieter? It would make things less difficult and she wouldn't constantly have a headache every single day of the fucking week.

"What are we going to have for supper, Nee-chan?" Kyoko handed her neatly stacked notes and sat back on her heels, pearly whites still out for the world to see.

She pinched the bridge of her nose and concentrated on breathing to keep from losing her temper. Being the oldest by five months sometimes sucked. "Kyo, what do you want to eat?"

Mari helped her sister up so they could get as far away from the school as possible before he got wind of this and decided to stop by to rub it in her face. Her teeth grinded together at just the thought of it. The boy was such an arrogant ass that it was a miracle she could deal with him long enough to rehearse let alone hear him sing and act like a charming idol out in public for his adoring fans. Just uttering his name disgusted her to the point of regurgitating her bento, and tasting rice drowned in soy sauce wasn't good the second go-around.

The single hoop earring she wore in her right ear peeked out from behind her hair, the breeze having picked up as they stepped outside. Her lungs filled with the humid air, the sun a welcome caress to her skin as she shifted her books around to shove them in her pack. Kyo was still surprisingly quiet, her constant yammering about something happening in her class absent, and the blonde had trouble understanding why food was the only thing that could shut her up. She'd have to remember this for later, but then she always forgot in favor of losing her temper and lashing out with all the ferocity of a hellcat. If there was one thing the teenager was notorious for in school, it was the terrifying temper she wielded and the piercing cobalts that threatened to swallow you in their depths like the crashing seas. Her younger sister, on the other hand, was bubbly and had friends all the way to the sempais. Mari just didn't have the patience to deal with idiots or kids her age stammering and attempting (and failing miserably) to hold eye contact with her. Kyo and Ami, their ten-year-old sister, were more outgoing than her and she preferred it considering she had to take care of them.

She called out to the daydreaming Kyo to hurry up otherwise she'd be left behind, and the teenager quickly caught up in order to whine about dinner. "I don't know what I want, Nee-chan."

"Then it looks like Ami will have to decide," Mari deadpanned, approaching the gates of the elementary where a cute, little cherry blonde girl waited with a fluttering dance of her hands. Sweet lavender brightened as the two older girls caught her eye, and Ami rushed forward with the awkward galloping of most children. Her arms locked around Mari's calves, a cherub cheek rubbing in greeting against her knee, and uneven teeth peeked out from chapped lips. "Hey, Ami. Did you have a good day at school?"

"Hai! I missed Mari-tan and Kyo-nee though."

Kyo giggled, squatting down to her height, "But, you always say that, Ami-chan." She touched the little girl's nose with a finger.

Ami pouted and released her hold on Mari's legs.

"Alright, what does Ami-chan want for supper? Kyo-nee doesn't know what she wants." Mari nudged the other teenager with her knee, tipping her over and landing in an undignified heap as two cute boys passed. She hid her smirk as her sister sputtered intelligibly a moment as her cheeks flushed a pretty rouge.

"Ne, ne, can we have hamburgers? It's been awhile since we've had those."

At Mari's nod, Ami jumped up and down with a squeal as she clapped her hands together. Kyo clamored to her feet and glared at Mari, but it quickly melted as their younger sibling continued her happy dance.

"Ami-chan, why don't we head home while Onee-chan gets the groceries?" Kyo took the grinning girl's chubby hand and began to lead her down the sidewalk. She waved over her shoulder at Mari and placed a hand by her ear in the universal sign of 'call me later' before returning to Ami.

Mari shook her head at the two, the both of them were absolutely hopeless. She canted her head up to cloudy sky, the sunlight streaming through a canopy of trees and highlighting the sharp planes of her face. "I wonder if you've found peace, Mom, Papa."

~o~

She was exiting the store when her phone shrilled to inform her of a call. Well, tough, because her arms were full and there was no way she was going to dig around for it in her bag. Whoever it was could just wait one fucking minute. The plastic handles dug painfully into her wrists and she gritted her teeth, irritated at not only the amount of stuff she had to get for food and a history project but also the annoying beeping of her cell. Even after it stopped ringing and forwarded the caller to voicemail, the silence barely lasted a second before it started up again in a huge uproar. Like it was annoyed at her refusal to acknowledge the thing.

"Fucking damn it!" She hauled her bags onto a nearby bench and yanked her phone out of the bag without even glaring at the caller I.D. "Kyoko Himimori, it better be fucking God damn important if you're calling me with a full shit load of—"

"Do you normally speak that way to your sister, baka Mari?"

Her eyebrows reached her hairline, the Cupid's bow falling loose as her lungs released the rest of her heated words in a huff. Just what the hell—

"Where are you? Practice started over thirty-minutes ago, baka." Fuuto continued as if she hadn't just been bitching at him for no apparent reason, and she found her voice long enough to tell him that he hadn't said anything to her about a practice. "I didn't? So sorry, Mari-chan, but it seems that I forgot to tell you yesterday. You better hurry, now."

"You fucking asshole!" She shrieked into the phone and startled the surrounding onlookers as her eyes spat fire at anyone who dared approach her. "I have to fix my sisters' dinner and I'm on the other side of town from where our apartment is!"

"Not my problem, Mari-chan. You should have known. Twenty-minutes." And with that, he hung up.

She stared at her phone and contemplated on throwing it at the nearest thing before grabbing the plastic bags again to run toward the metro. Her fingers punched in their house phone and she gritted her teeth through the churning of her gut. "Kyo? I need you to grab my guitar from my room and meet me at the station."

"Huh? Why? I thought Fuuto-kun said that you didn't have practice until tomorrow?"

"Fucking asshole lied. Grab my guitar and a change of clothes. I don't care what you take from my closet just get me something." She spat angrily at a damn CEO for shoving pass and nearly knocking her off the stairway. Her train pass was already out and ready to slide through the blockade. "I've got the stuff for hamburgers—tell Ami that I'm sorry, but we're going to have to make it tomorrow. Order some pizza or something."

"Alright, Ami and I are on the way. Try to calm down, okay?"

"Fine," she ended the call and stepped into the cart just as the doors slid closed. Her legs welcomed the seat as she collapsed into it, eyes closed and breathing steadily through her nose in order to reign in her temper. That fucking bastard always did this just for the fun of it! If it wasn't for the fact that he was practically a saint to his fans and her employer then she'd have knocked him on his ass ages ago. "Deep breaths, Mari. There's no reason to lose your income…"

There's always a reason to think of all the ways I can get him back for this.

To most, Asakura Fuuto is a charming, sweet, and handsome teen idol with eyes the color of dripping caramel and a smile that could send the entire female population to their knees. Tawny waves looked effortless in its style and begged for fingers to run through them as he wrapped you in a warm embrace. His mannerisms were polite and honey-dripping words had you hanging on every word that fell from those angelic lips. A woman could get lost in the sweetness of his voice—become hypnotized into doing anything the idol wanted without too much persuasion. It was this skill that so easily tricked people into thinking that he was nothing more than a sweetheart.

Complete and total bullshit.

Mari snarled wordlessly as her hair fell along her face and out of the messy ponytail she'd thrown it into after a hastily change into the clothes Kyo brought. She kicked open the doors with enough force to announce the entire agency of her arrival, and she immediately locked eyes with the vain of her existence with a narrowing of blazing sapphires. He had the nerve to laugh at her attire and applaud for her arriving less than two minutes before the time limit was up. The smirk that graced his lips were close to a breaking point to her and if it wasn't for the drummer, Ryou, then she would have wiped the damn thing off.

"He's not worth losing the gig, Albino," he said, grabbing her forearm and leading her toward the dressing room. Thick eyebrows set atop endless topaz gazed down at her in warning when she opened her mouth to retort. "Just ignore him and put all your energy into playing that sweet music of yours. After all, this job is what's keeping you and your sisters afloat, right?"

The crackling fire in her glare stuttered before flickering out entirely as Ryou opened the door. He took her guitar case while she flitted to her designated locker to drop off her bags. Over her shoulder she grumbled, "You always know how to make me feel bad."

His chuckle drifted to her and when she returned to take her baby from him, he flashed a beaming grin. "You tend to lose your wits when you and Fuuto are in the same room."

She snorted, "If the brat wasn't so damn infuriating then maybe I wouldn't be such a hellion."

"No one's asking you to act like one, Albino."

"Shut up, Topaz. You can't tell me what to do." She shoved the door open again with guitar in-hand and began hooking her strap into place.

Ryou followed behind with a laugh at her huffiness. "Technically, I can since I'm your elder."

"Then you should be in a nursing home, Ojī-chan."

He scoffed and hopped up the steps ahead of her to take his designated seat behind the drums. She shook her head at him with a cheeky smile as she took her place nearest to the idol and closest to the backup singers who all waved in greeting. A stage hand gave her a cord for the amp and she plugged it in, adjusting the guitar's sound meticulously while Fuuto tapped his foot impatiently for her to finish. The blonde ignored him and out of spite, fiddled with the tones longer than normal considering how much of an ass he'd been to her recently. He was lucky that she didn't just say 'fuck it' and ruin his money-maker with a well-placed hit to the jaw.

"Are you finished now?"

She glanced up from her baby and nodded, smirking. Two can play at this sadistic game they were a part of.

~o~

"Man, I thought you were going to maul him today," Kai, the bassist, cackled from the backseat and nudged one of the dancers with an elbow. Aoi met her eyes in the mirror and demanded why she was there when the brunette rightly deserved a break from the crazy man. She shrugged, apologetic but not willing to trade seats with him.

Ryou rolled his eyes at their friend, "You'd love that, wouldn't you?"

A brilliant wolfish smile donned his face in response. "My bet is on the hellcat."

"Damn right it should be," Mari snorted.

Aoi shoved the over affectionate bassist from him and crossed his arms. "Just because the kid hasn't shown any signs of not being able to handle himself in a fight, doesn't mean that he can't. For all you know, Mari, he's a judo master."

"Yeah, right. Maybe in his head."

Ryou threw a sidelong glance at her before returning his attention to the road. "Mari, don't act arrogant. It doesn't suit you."

She scoffed, but remained silent as Ryou tried to settle the obnoxious bassist in the backseat from annoying the brunette dancer any further. If the drummer wanted her to be all above the brat then she could do it as long as said brat didn't open his mouth. Or keep their rehearsals to himself. Or refuse to inform her when costume fitting was. The list continued.

How could Japan's most beloved pop star be such a sick sociopath? Fucking hell, she could hardly keep herself from gagging at his fake 'angelic' persona during a concert let alone out in public. How could anyone not see through him? Just knowing how easily everyone was being played irritated her to the point of an explosion and she often found herself frowning more often. The cheerful personality she first came to the band a year and half ago was all but gone after Fuuto got a hold of her. It was because of him that she had a hard time not being cynical, but it was also his decision in hiring her as his new guitarist that saved the remnants of her family. No matter how much she threatened to hurt him or verbally abuse his character, she was forever grateful for his generosity in picking her out of thousands to be a part of his band.

Even now, she couldn't fathom what made him choose her considering she botched the opening harmonies of the required song they were supposed to play. She had been such a nervous wreck and seeing how well everyone else performed, the nicer-looking clothes they wore, and the way they shined on that stage…She could only dream of being that good. Her only reason of coming to the stupid audition was to make Kyo shut up about it, and hopefully be able to do the thing she loved most as a job. It was a miracle they had lasted as long as they did after their parents were killed almost two years ago. Mari had taken on multiple jobs just to keep the bills paid and food on the table, even played on the streets for a little extra money. It was because of this obsession that Kyo thought it would be a brilliant idea to convince her sister to try out for Asakura Fuuto's Auditions.

She didn't know how her sister had persuaded her into going, but Mari filled out the application concerning her phone number, address, and any previous experience as a musician. The blonde wasn't too nervous about playing in front of a panel that would make their decision then and there, but what she hadn't been counting on was the amount of talent. She felt like such an amateur compared to the rest and almost left to avoid the humiliation if it wasn't for running into Ryou. The drummer had come to check out the newest member after they were picked in order to understand their personality through the way they played, but hadn't expected for Mari to be rushing out in such a hurry. The teenager fell to her back much to her embarrassment as laughter erupted from the surrounding older musicians, but one look from Ryou had sent the entire room into a deathly silence.

He apologized profusely for running into her and asked why she was leaving. She refused to look at him as she mumbled out an explanation and he almost dropped her hand at her dismissal of any possible talent she had. His thumb grabbed her chin and forced her eyes to meet his shimmering ones. She was so surprised by the sunlight quality of them that her hands remained at her side, useless and unwillingly to pry the hand from her face. The quiet timbre hardened along with the soft curve of his lips and he told her that if she was willing to give up so quickly on her dreams then why had she come here in the first place? Her reply was mousy in its squeaky quality and the angry blaze in his eyes died. Without warning, he released her and stood to his full height. He informed her that she should stay if she wanted to help her younger sisters, otherwise, they were better off without her as their caretaker.

Ryou left with that thought in her mind and, in the end, Mari stayed for her turn to take the stage. Her fingers shook and she thought her lungs would explode from the inside out, but by some miracle she was able to introduce herself and play without too much trouble. As the last of her guitar's lullaby drifted through the auditorium, Mari caught a glimpse of Ryou in the audience with the rest of the guitarists who had stopped glancing at their phones to focus on her completely. Ryou gave the teenager a thumbs-up and a grin.

The next thing she knew, Fuuto's agent and manager were consulting her about contracts, possible overseas concerts, and a hefty paycheck. She couldn't believe her ears when Fuuto himself had demanded she become his new guitarist, or that she had outshined every single one of those experienced musicians. She had become one of the youngest guitarists to join a band as popular as Fuuto's in all of Japan.

And then, she realized how much it sucked to be in one with the bratty idol.

"Oi," Ryou shook her shoulder and Mari pulled herself out of the past to notice that she was at her apartment complex. "You need me to help take your stuff up?"

She shook her head, "Nah. You guys need to get home, too. But, you can help me get it out of the back."

After waving goodbye to her bandmates and thanking Ryou once more for driving her home, Mari stumbled her way inside and into the elevator. Mr. Takatsuki asked her how practice went and at her tired smile and so-so wave, he relented his daily nosiness and allowed her to leave the lobby in peace. The minute the elevator dinged her arrival onto her floor, however, all silence was ruined by a screaming violet-eyed kitten. Ami came running from the open doorway to rush into her sissy's arms as the teenager stepped off the elevator. Mari corrected her balance so she wouldn't end up sprawled out on the floor for the second time today and glared at the cheeky black-haired girl in front of her.

"Shouldn't she be in bed, Kyoko?"

She rolled her eyes, "Don't get your tail all fluffed up, Nee-chan. She wouldn't go to sleep until you were home."

Mari sighed and glanced down at the giggling little girl hugging her legs tightly. "Ami, you have to go to bed now."

Ami pouted but nodded her head and skipped back inside to brush her teeth. Kyo moved to help Mari with her things and informed her that there were left over hamburgers in the oven waiting to be heated up. Mari raised an eyebrow, but Kyo only grinned as she flitted inside to place Mari's dirty clothes in the washer.

Mari shook her head and placed her guitar case down in the kitchen. She may have realized her dreams, but her sole duty was to her sisters' welfare and no matter how much she hated the pop star, she'd flip over backwards to keep her job.