Chapter Text
Kabetaijin was a changed man. Ever since the contest, he rediscovered his passion for rapping again and the stress of it all seemed to have disappeared.
Eiko…
Her singing shook him, nearly breaking him until the moment came where he had to face it all against Kongming.
If not for her singing, he probably would not have found the drive to go through with it. It truly was a miracle that his stress and anxiety seemed to have disappeared and he won even to his own surprise. Now he began to wonder if Kongming had it all planned...for him to join up with the strange group either way.
His new arrangement brought back his love of rapping, but the anxiety started to come back the second Kongming explained the specifics of why he wanted him to join them.
Getting Eiko to Sommer Sonia. How was he going to do that? He was popular but not a superstar. That was not a path he had even considered for himself. Kabe hardly used social media except to talk to his friends. Now the burden of getting Eiko 100,000 likes on Pinsta was starting to weigh in.
He spent the next several days coming up with new raps but nothing was sticking. If Eiko failed, was it going to be his fault? That was the worse case scenario. Why was he starting to regret joining up at all?
Kabe nearly jumped when he heard his phone ring.
Dammit.
It had to be Sekitoba again. He wasn’t going to rest until he had their rematch. Seeing him get back into rapping at the lounge was never going to be enough for him.
He was going to decline the call, but was surprised to find the screen say ‘Unknown Number’.
Is he really trying to use other phones now? Kabe wondered. If it wasn’t him, Kabe didn’t want to seem rude by not answering. So he pressed ‘Accept’.
“H-hello?”
“Kabe? Hey! It’s me, Eiko!”
EIKO??? He was started to feel a shortness of breath and was trying not to panic. He scratched his head hoping to calm down. She was the last person, he had ever expected to call. Since joining up with the group, he had been far too nervous to exchange numbers with her despite how useful it would be in the future.
“Oh...uh HI!” he said a bit too loud. “How did you...uh, get this number, by the way?”
“Kongming gave it to me.”
He knows my number?!! Kabe was starting to feel very disturbed.
“Anyway,” said Eiko. “I was thinking we should start getting some singing practice in. I have a couple of song ideas that would be good for us to try together.”
Kabe had not expected to meet up with Eiko again so soon, but deep down he was feeling excited. “Alright, then. Should I head over to the lounge?”
“Actually it’s being fumigated right now. And Kongming had to go somewhere. He suggested that I come over to your place to practice.”
The phone nearly slipped out of Kabe’s hands. He was frozen and unable to think.
“Kabe?”
Eiko’s voice brought him back to reality. He didn’t know what else to say other than “o...okay.”
“That’s great! Kongming gave me your address so I should be over there in about 15 minutes.”
HE KNOWS WHERE I LIVE, TOO?! Kabe’s mind was starting to scream.
“See you soon, Kabe,” was the last he heard of Eiko’s voice before she hung up. The room became silent again while he tried to process what had just happened.
Eiko...Eiko was coming over here.
He realized in all his time living in this apartment he had NEVER had a girl over. Not even just to hang out. How could he in a place like this, empty soda cans everywhere...dust gathering on the TV...dirty clothes tangled in his sweaty sheets…
EIKO IS COMING!!!
He rushed to grab a trash bag and was tossing just about everything in site into it.
I can’t have this out! Why haven’t I cleaned this in so long? She’s going to think I’m a pig! No wait! What if I over do it and she thinks I’m a neat freak?!
Before Kabe knew it more stuff was getting thrown around in his panic. The apartment was starting to look messier than it was before he started.
How much more time?! I can’t remember when she called!
If the sweating wasn’t bad enough, Kabe was all the sudden started to feel queasy. He recognized the feeling before…
“No!” he cried clutching his stomach. Not again! Not now!
How foolish he was to think that it was all over, that he could start anew. What happened at the contest was nothing more than a mere fluke and now his vision was starting to blur and he started losing his balance...
…
Eiko was starting to get annoyed. She was certain this was the right apartment, unless Kongming was putting her up to some sort of weird test.
She knocked for what seemed like the fifth time. “Kabe? Are you in there?”
Her hand unintentionally pushed the door ajar. It was unlocked.
“Kabe?”
It didn’t seem right that no on was answering an unlocked door. She decided to take the risk and go inside.
The apartment seemed rather ordinary...small and untidy. She never expected this to be the home of a champion rapper.
Her eyes scanned the home until she noticed a pair of legs on the floor behind a sofa.
Eiko dropped her guitar and duffle bag and ran over.
“KABE!!!”
There was he was...lying on the floor completely pale-faced with a half-filled trash bag in one hand. He seemed conscious and was breathing.
“What do I do?!” Eiko was panicking until she remembered what Kongming had given her before she left.
She went back to her duffle bag.
“If he starts to look nervous,” said Kongming, “I insist you slip this into his drink.”
Eiko finally found the bear sipper containing the strange green liquid. “There’s no time. Maybe I can just give this straight to him. Here, Kabe. Drink this!”
She lifted Kabe’s head and his lips touched the sipper.
Kabe, meanwhile was feeling in and out of it. He could feel what he assumed was the paramedics trying to give him liquids like the last time. Only this time, whatever he was drinking tasted rather nasty.
Still, he sipped. His stomach was starting to calm and his vision came back sooner than he had expected.
He could see someone leaning over him and calling his name.
“You’re okay now…”
Kabe’s vision revealed a pair of big beautiful blue eyes filled with relief just for him. The golden hair looked awfully familiar as well as the cap on top of it.
His scream shocked Eiko. He found himself scrambling away from her, looking rather terrified.
She saw me… Kabe realized. No!
Eiko was in his home...laying eyes on the real Kabetaijin...the weak pathetic boy who couldn’t handle the stress and pressure of everything.
His instincts drove him to get up and run. The door to the bathroom was right behind him. It’s where he needed to go anyway if he was to further relieve himself of his ulcer symptoms.
“Kabe, wait!”
He made it to the bathroom slamming and locking the door on Eiko.
She knocked immediately with concern. “Kabe, are you alright? Should I call someone?”
Kabe reacted without thinking. “I’m...I’m fine, okay?! JUST GO AWAY AND LEAVE ME ALONE!!!”
There was no thinking while he was on the toilet. Once he was done and washing his hands at the sink, he splashed some water in his face. The color in his face was still gone. He was still looking very sickly.
The shame...the humiliation. It was his fear for a girl to see him like this, but for it to be Eiko made it a whole lot worse.
She must think him a freak. A mean, horrible freak now that he lashed out at her.
He wanted to cry...realizing how Eiko was just worried about him.
After a few more minutes, Kabe tried to pull himself together. He just destroyed whatever good relations he managed to have with Eiko. What was he going to do now?
When Kabe finally stepped out of the bathroom, he was surprised to find Eiko was still there...sitting on the edge of his messy bed.
“Hey,” she said nervously. “Are you feeling better?”
She knew the real Kabe now. It was useless to lie anymore. “No…,” he said quietly. “Listen...I think you should tell Kongming to find someone else to help you get to Sommer Sonia.”
“What?! You’re quitting already?! Why?!”
“Because I can’t…,” Kabe struggled to find his words. “I can’t...I don’t want to be the reason you fail!” His eyes were beginning to water as if this situation wasn’t awkward and horrible enough.
Eiko’s concerned turned to curiosity. “What are you talking about?”
“I’ve...I never had to rap for anyone but myself. I know how much getting to this festival means to you. If I had known how much was riding on me…”
“You mean us?” she asked him. “I’m the one that’s gotta do the heavy lifting, Kabe. Besides, we’re doing this for you, too. Haven’t you always wanted to be a famous rapper?”
Kabe was scratching his head again. “Well honestly, I have thought about it. But it just seems terrifying. I’m perfectly happy just competing club to club.”
“I heard that you stopped doing that before Kongming came to you. He must have done something amazing to have changed your mind.”
“Yeah…” he confessed, not that he was ever going to tell her what exactly changed his mind.
Eiko went over to get her guitar. “Maybe you’ll feel more confident if we start practicing.” She handed Kabe several papers she got from her guitar case. “I have some songs here that have a good spot for a rap interlude. Let’s see your expertise, Word Master.”
For several hours, Kabe relaxed himself. He wasn’t shaking anymore. The stomach pains seemed like a distant memory. Her singing was definitely calming yet was overwhelming for him at the same time. His mind was already racing to come up with lyrics for the rap interlude. Eiko was quite fascinated with how he was able to come up with words so quickly and so brilliantly. No wonder he was a three...no count them...four-time rap champion.
They had been practicing for far too long. “This is great!” Eiko said with excitement. “I can see those 100,000 likes rolling in, especially with you involved, Kabe. Everyone is going to go crazy for you!”
That was a lot more praise than he had expected to get from her.
The sun was starting to set when Eiko started grabbing her things. “I’m certain we can practice at the lounge again tomorrow. I can’t wait for Kongming to see what we came up with.”
“Me too,” said Kabe. He was feeling very confident about his new lyrics. They seemed to go well with Eiko’s approach to music.
“A delicate man like you needs a partner…”
That was what Kongming had said to him. Yet when he told him of a certain singer, he did not expect someone like Eiko...someone who had that kind of power to move people with her voice. He was starting to understand the balance in his life that Eiko was capable of bringing.
“Hey Kabe…”
He was almost lost in thought watching Eiko step out of the apartment. She was looking back at him with a smile and a thumbs up. “We’re going to Sommer Sonia together whether you like it or not. So let’s keep working hard.”
And for the first time that day, a genuine smile came across the rapper’s face. He humorously, but also affectionately, returned the thumbs up.
“Sounds good to me.”
*He never did ask her what was in that drink.
THE END