Chapter Text
The first time Tadashi came to know of Crows was when he was thirteen. He was on his way home from school and passed by some shop's tv with their live performance on.
Their music was catchy and addictive. Their lyrics were relatable and comforting. What's more, all the band members looked cool and awesome in different ways:
The vocalist, Asahi-san, has this strong and clear commanding voice whilst singing, but has a gentle tone when speaking and a smile that seems to say he is as harmless as a baby bird.
The drummer, Tanaka-sempai, has a lot of stage presence despite being at the back. He has a great physique and is actually more reliable and virtuous than he looks.
The guitarist, Tobio, and the bassist, Shouyou, are quite the tandem. Both seem really passionate and are talented with doing fast key transitions; but, unfortunately, are both not-so smart with anything else that doesn't have a connection to music.
The keyboardist, Tsukishima, looks really calm and cool while performing. His long fingers are so elegant and beautiful. He is as charming as a prince. However, he can actually get quite "salty" during interviews and is hard to impress.
Tadashi likes how they seem really different, yet compatible with one another. They make such a great band. And well, people also find their image gap very amusing.
Discovering them changed his life forever. Crows became his escape from reality, his source of energy, and his inspiration to try better in his daily life.
-o-
Second smartest out of one hundred fifty--that's how Tadashi finished middle school. And that's also how he got his parents to buy him a VIP concert ticket for Crows' "Big Dome Concert".
Tadashi actually feels like he's still floating on clouds despite already lying on his bed [and being home for about an hour now]. His cheeks are also still aching from smiling like crazy the whole duration of the concert. But hey, this is definitely one of the best nights of his entire life!
The band played and sang better than he expected. Plus, he made eye contact AND even exchanged smiles with his [secret] favorite member--Tsukishima Kei, the nineteen year old keyboardist--during the encore performance!
Then again, it may have just been wishful thinking on his part. After all, there were over one hundred fifty people on the vip section alone. So even if he's tall and like on the fourth row, can he really catch the blonde's attention?
Thinking more about it now, that girl in front of him who screamed "Kyaa! Kei-kun, I love you!" was quite pretty. Maybe Tsukki--err, Tsukishima--was actually looking and smiling back at her, not at him?
'Maa.' Tadashi mused. 'Doesn't really matter. He'll probably never recall anyone's face from such a huge crowd anyway. Tsukishima Kei is way beyond my reach.' He reminded himself. 'Anyway, what's important is I finally got to watch their concert live!'
And with a happy heart, Yamaguchi Tadashi went to sleep.
-o-
Crows' third year anniversary came two weeks after the concert. So their management came up with some kind of triple combo. Hence, the band held their very first "Autograph Signing WITH Handshake AND Cheki" event.
It was decided to have the lucky five hundred fans divided into the band members by drawlots.
Having close contact and a picture with any of the five members would make him happy. Thus, Tadashi was totally more than fine with getting a slot for Asahi-san.
But to his surprise, when he was already twelfth on the [waiting] line, the band's pretty manager swapped him with a girl from Tsukishima's line. Something along the lines of "I hope you don't mind, but it's her birthday soon and her favorite member is Asahi. Is it okay if you trade lines with her?" accompanied by such a refreshing smile.
So how can anyone possibly refuse? Even when the manager puts you at the very end of the line and you'll have to wait another thirty minutes for your turn, no one can resist that smile, right? Especially if you're Tadashi who sorta secretly worships Tsukishima Kei, yes?
And if he thought himself already super lucky for being transferred to Tsukishima's line, he felt like he was absolutely favored and blessed by the gods today with how their interaction went down.
"H-hi, Tsukishima-san. I've been a fan since your debut.. it's great to meet.. uhm, I mean.. see you up close!" He smiled nervously.
"Thank you for your support." Tsukishima gave a curt nod. "So, what's your name?"
"H-huh?!"
"For the album. So I can write your name on it." The keyboardist stated casually.
"O-oh." Tadashi didn't expect he'd be this considerate to fans. "It's Yamaguchi."
"I mean your given name, not your family name." Tsukishima scanned his face. "It'll be more personalized that way, don't you think?"
Tadashi felt self-conscious and blushed with how Tsukishima was obviously looking at his freckles. "Oh. M-my name is Tadashi."
After signing, Tsukishima handed the cd with a small smile, then took his right hand gently, and shook it firmly.
Tsukishima was also gracious enough to retake the cheki with him; since on the first one, Tadashi was so overwhelmed with how Tsukishima's face was so near his that he unconsciously averted his eyes and looked to the side. He wasn't allowed to get the first cheki, but at least, the second one looked really good--with both of them smiling (or smirking in Tsukishima's case) and making a peace sign.
'Tsukishima Kei is unbelievably super nice. Or do all stars and idols give that kind of fan service?' Well, Tadashi wouldn't really know since Crows is the only one he admires and follows.
-o-