We arrived in Tokyo as late as we could on Sunday, as I was purposely dragging my feet, and Aki was patient with my reluctance to leave his house. He did not, in fact, tell me the whole story while I sat on the bathroom counter, but I didn't ask any follow up questions. On Monday, the album was finished, and I along with the entirety of Guardian sat heavily in the studio, too exhausted to properly celebrate the completion, but too obligated to let the chance for celebration go. Fuji had ordered a variety of food that had been delivered, and I had made tea.

"Our eleventh studio album complete. Good work, guys." Fuji said as he sat down on the floor, after arranging the containers of food on the table in the center of the room. "We still have to name it."

"It's really hard." Kota sounded pleased about the comment. "It's one of Guardian's most metal albums to date."

"They're going to want us to make a video or two before the release." Aki said. "What should we name it?"

There was a short silence that settled as each member of Guardian glanced back and forth at each other. "We should call it Redemption." Fuji finally spoke up.

"It's going to be a really difficult album to perform live." Kota said. "We're all going to get exhausted before it's finished."

Aki laughed at the comment as he finally gave up and laid down on the floor in the middle of the room. "You're not the one who has to figure out how to breathe and scream at three different octaves at the same time."

"You're already thinking about live performances, and you just finished recording." Yamada barged into the room, and I caught her give Aki a glance that told him to behave like a gentleman and stop laying on the floor. I was sure he saw it too, but he made no move to change his position. "I got a message just now about the yearly label celebration. Guardian is invited as guests of honor, both for recently signing and for recording two studio albums in the same year under them."

"The label doesn't have any other bands like Guardian." Aki told me as we got dressed and made up to attend the party. "They have mainly pop and soft rock bands under them, and I think we were definitely being made an example of when they signed us."

I looked at him behind me in the bathroom mirror as I applied my makeup, dipping into his palate of eyeshadow in various shades of blacks and grays. "Why did they want to sign you if they don't deal with Guardian's genre?"

"They recognized our talent, is my guess." He met my gaze in the mirror. "But I also kind of worry that it was because of me."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

He looked down at himself, grabbing the lapels of his wool trench coat and giving them a tug to arrange them. "I'm not trying to be a poster child."

I understood what he meant with the expression on his face. Aki's image was intense, and it caught attention no matter what he wore or how he acted. He had the presence to control an entire room without any effort at all, as if he was eight feet tall despite being only five feet and seven inches. His entire wardrobe was black with dashes of white and gray here and there, packed with leather jackets, wallet chains, combat boots, and t-shirts with worn holes in them. His tattoos commanded even more attention than his personality did. He fiercely lived as a rockstar.

The label party was held in a modest bar in Shinjuku that had been rented out only for the invited guests. Aki and I had walked there in no time from our apartment in Ueno, but in the depths of Shinjuku's red light district, I found myself clinging to Aki, wary of our surroundings. The bar was bathed in dark blue lights that reminded me of the atmosphere of Guardian's stage. People lingered at tables, standing at the counter, stalking the space, mingling with smiles and soft laughter. Most were men, some like Aki with a woman on their arm, and some women separate from them.

"These people are all from the label, they're all professionals. Nothing to worry about here." Aki said to me as he unhooked my fingers from his coat and put his arm around me. "Do you want a drink? I'll get us something light." I nodded to Aki's offer, and he patted the top of a nearby standing table with his palm. "Stay right here, I'll be right back. The rest of the guys should be here any time, so watch for them."

I kept my eyes on Aki's form as he made his way to the bar, but I reminded myself of what he said, that everyone in the room were industry professionals under the same music label. I was able to take the edge off of my tension, feeling my eyes relax out of the wide state they were in. The bar wasn't far from where Aki had left me, and I could see him clearly still. He had become a dark silhouette under the blue lights, just like he was on stage, only his edges highlighted.

"You must be from one of the girl groups I haven't met yet." A hand shot into my field of view, belonging to a man dressed in a black suit that sparkled as it caught the light. He had a simple face, but well built features, and looked the same as every other young man in the room.

"No, actually I'm-" I took his offered hand to be polite, but he didn't bother to listen to my response.

"Oh, a soloist! I'm Toki, I'm from the boy band Timeless."

Aki appeared at my side, placing two drinks down on the table, keeping his hands on the glasses until I took one from him. He leaned slightly forward in a short bow towards Toki and extended his hand to introduce himself.

"Didn't you hear that this bar was reserved for a music label party tonight, Yakuza?" He swatted Aki's hand away. "I saw her first." My eyes returned to their wide state, shocked at the sudden transaction, and I looked at Aki to gauge his reaction.

Aki quickly snatched a hold of Toki's shirt. "If I were Yakuza and you said that to me, you'd be dead right now, don't you think?" He pulled with the grip he had on the shirt to bring the man ever so slightly closer into the field of danger. "And don't touch my woman."

Hands clapped over Aki's shoulders, causing both him and I to jump. We had been so focused on the conversation, Aki attempting to keep his threat unnoticeable to the rest of the room, that we hadn't seen the rest of Guardian approach. Fuji had a keen eye to detect rising conflict, and had taken the opportunity to interfere. "I see you've made the acquaintance of Aki-san, the front man of Guardian!" Fuji's boisterous voice diffused Aki's anger as he addressed the victim. "And Sugimori-san, the newest and prettiest member of Guardian."

Toki looked to me, hesitation still lingering on his features. I knew the expression he wore, and I recognized that he was trying hard to remain stoic though he had no idea what to expect. "You're Sugimori Natsuko?" I nodded, able to smile in the presence of Guardian. Toki gave his attention back to Fuji and Aki, but he began to walk away as he spoke. "A metalcore band has no business being on this label."

Aki turned in Fuji's hold as Fuji shook him lightly before drawing him close in a brotherly hug. Seeming unwilling to let go, he rocked Aki side to side as Aki often did to me. Kota reached over my shoulder, taking my drink from my hand and sipping it. "This one is safe. I think I'll get my own, it's delicious."

I first sipped the drink, and found it surprisingly fresh and sweet. Aki had chosen it for me, and while neither of us drank very often, I knew his tastes were vastly different from mine. It always surprised me at how much Aki really paid attention to every detail of me without any effort. I easily took a few more sips as I watched the interaction between Aki and Fuji. "He accused me of being Yakuza, and was trying to hit on Natsu." Aki said, retelling concisely his side of the story.

"If you didn't want to be mistaken for Yakuza then maybe you shouldn't have gotten all these tattoos." Fuji said in a fatherly, gentle way, and I knew he was only having fun instead of offering actual advice. He let go of Aki and reached his arms out for me, tucking me into his embrace. "Are you okay?"

"Much more okay now that everyone is here." Kota rejoined the group with another two drink glasses in hand, holding one out to me.

Aki put his hand on my shoulder while Fuji's arms were still draped over me. He leaned in close to speak into my ear. "Natsu I'm sorry." He said. I could tell he had more to say, but I didn't need an apology.

I reached my hand under his lean, snaking my fingertip over his jaw and neck to place a kiss on his cheek. "It's nothing." I moved my hand to grasp the lapel of his coat. "For the record though, I think you're the prettiest."

Aki scoffed a laugh, looking down at his feet in embarrassment. "Don't be like that." He said.