pslplz | Trouble only knocks when no one else is home

There was something inherently mischievous about the man's eyes. Between that and his wild hair, he seemed like one of those rebel types that mothers never wanted their daughters to fall for... but who probably did anyway. He was an attractive guy, and there was something alluring about his aura.

Omi followed him inside and toed his shoes off, feeling a bit weird despite the invitation to come in. Maybe the way the musician looked at him. If Omi didn't know better, he'd think he was checking him out. He shook it off and smiled.

"My name's Honjou Omi. It's nice to meet you."

The studio space they rented out was not big, but it was open to them 24-7, which was their greatest need, after the requisite sound quality requirements. Everyone kept odd hours between shows and tours and media events. The studio had to accommodate all of their busy schedules.

"Kirihara Akaya," he said. Though he didn't bother with the 'nice to meet yous' too, he did answer that smile with one of his own when their gazes met briefly as they walked.

Akaya led them down a narrow soundproofed corridor and through another door that opened up into a practice space where the band equipment was set-up, along with speakers, microphones, and of course, the synth. There was a small kitchenette set up in a corner, which was mostly used as a coffee station for their late night practice sessions.

He tugged his messenger bag off his shoulder and set it down on a chair.

"You want any coffee?"

Omi had never been in a music studio before. He took in the accommodations with interest as they traveled back to the production room. He wasn't a music-maker himself, but there were still a few items in the room that looked awfully fun.

He made his way over to the synthesizer and pulled up the codeboard on the holoscreen, taking a rapid skim through the first few pages for some basic information, like the code language and the program's base framework.

"Sure-- thanks. In the meantime, can you tell me more about the problem? What is it doing wrong, and what should it be doing instead?"

Honestly, it should be Nami here, dealing with the busted synth. It was her equipment, after all. But Akaya was the band's leader and had to step up when people bailed on him. He knew more or less what was wrong with the thing, from her complaints. He mostly played guitar but tinkered in multiple other instruments, too. He liked to know how they sounded and how to compose for them when he was writing songs.

"The sample audio gets some echo feedback when the settings are on stereo," he said as he stepped up behind Omi and demonstrated with a swipe of his fingers across the keyboard.

"See?" He grinned.

Omi watched and listened as Akaya demonstrated the problem, cringing a little as he heard the feedback, a loud whining ring through the speakers.

"Ahh... yeah, that would be a problem. Okay, I'll see what I can do. How much time do I have? This might take a while."

"However long it takes to get it right," Akaya said. They would have modify their set list to songs that didn't require those elements that were busted, but it wasn't a total shut-down. Still...

"But preferably before the gig tonight." He winked and stepped away, striding toward the coffee machine with purpose.

Omi facefaulted and double-took at Akaya, aghast.

"You need this tonight?!" That was kind of a big deal! He grimaced, looked back at the holoscreen, and sat down in front of it with a sigh... but his brows were already knit with determination.

"I'll do my best."

The hours ticked by. One, two, three... He ran a program scan first just to look for any anomalies in punctuation and syntax. When that produced nothing abnormal he started scanning through the code as though he were reading a book. In essence, it wasn't very different: he had to know what was there before he could guess at what was missing. Then he made a back-up of the existing code to a separate location and started tweaking things, testing after each one. Sometimes it got better but didn't disappear. Other times it got worse. Other times it disappeared only to be replaced by another problem.

Finally, after four and a half hours, he played a test note with no apparent bugs in the sound. He saved the new code file and stepped back with a tired grin at Akaya.

"I think I got it. Give it a go and tell me if anything else needs adjusting."

He did say it would take a while. Fortunately for Akaya, he could sit for hours practicing and composing, even with other things going on in the same room. He might not look like it from the outside, but he could be incredibly focused when he put his mind to it. There was a particular refrain he was working on for one of his new songs that needed tweaking. In the hours that went by, he managed to complete it, along with the guitar solo that he stuck in near the end of the piece.

Akaya looked up from his guitar and tablet where he was composing.

"All right, then," he said, looking mildly impressed. He set aside his stuff and strode back to Omi and tested out the synth. His fingers glided across the keyboard, playing out the tune he'd just completed.

"You're good."

Akaya grinned. His fingers played out a few more variations and chords, testing out all the possibilities. "Some of the chords sound tinny, but I think adjusting the equilizer should fix that."

For the most part, Omi had no choice but to tune out what Akaya was doing just so he could concentrate on what he was reading and writing. He still caught bits and pieces of it-- definitely enough to be curious what the finished song would be like.

His grin broadened at the compliment, looking a bit bashful but pleased. This had really been a drain on his day, so obviously he was glad it paid off. And it did feel good to help others. And hey, one more achievement for his résumé, maybe; he'd never fixed an instrument before.

"I'm glad it's working. Will you try adjusting the equalizer to be sure? If there's any more work needed on the code, it's easier to do it now while it's fresh in my memory."

"No prob."

Akaya tapped on the touchpad panel, calling up the equalizer. He adjusted the settings and played a few chords. The notes rang out in a clean and full-bodied sound that had just the right touch of base and no reverb. Nami should be very well pleased. (He was going to pester her later mercilessly for not being here for her own instrument repair, but anyway).

"I think that should do it. What do you think?"

Akaya knew his instruments. Just as he said, after he tweaked the settings the sound was beautiful. Omi was glad-- on multiple levels.

"Yeah! I think that does it. You'll be good to go for tonight."

"I guess I am," Akaya said, swiping across the panel to power it down. He cocked his head to the side and looked at Omi. "So? What do I owe you?"

Nami never did mention how much this guy was going to cost them.

Omi blinked, and for a moment looked awkward. Well. If he were the sort of person to do it, it would have been easy to turn this into a paying job. It was what he did for a living. But a favor was a favor. Even if Akaya didn't know better, it would be wrong to change the terms now. So he just smiled and waved his hand.

"You don't owe me anything. I came out as a favor for someone. But if you ever have problems again, or know someone else who needs a code fix, I'd really appreciate the referral. Can I give you my card?"

A favor for 'someone'? Clearly not Nami, or he would have said so. Akaya arched his eyebrow.

"It's a pretty big favor," he said curiously.

"My sister-in-law asked me. She always gets her way... Just ask my brother," he winked.

Akaya snorted at that. He knew all about being told what to do by women. He might be the leader of the band, but he was also the youngest. It seemed to be license for all the girls to push him around. Or maybe because he had a cute face? (He thought). It would explain why he was here today while Hokuto and Nami were off at that fashion thing.

"She a friend of Nami's?"

"I'm not sure... She might be. I think it was something like a classmate's little sister. In any case, this one's a freebie," Omi said, and took a moment for a good stretch, causing his shirt to ride up and show a sliver of tummy. He'd been sitting by that synthesizer for far too long. It was definitely lunchtime, too.

"It was nice meeting you, Kirihara-san. Good luck at your show tonight."

A brother-in-law of a classmate of a sibling... It sounded like a lot of favors had been called in. The music industry could be like that though, a lot of things happening by word of mouth or from knowing someone who knew someone. That was part of the reason why those media events and industry mixers and afterparties were part of the job, too.

Still, it didn't mean you had to treat every connection as a job.

"I thought you were gonna give me your number," Akaya said boldly.

Oh. Well now... that was interesting. Omi hadn't said anything else about the card for the sake of not being pushy, but he certainly hadn't imagined this kind of follow-up to its offer. Maybe Akaya really had been checking him out at the front door. Omi smiled and laced his fingers behind his head, holding an interested gaze on him.

"I'd still like to. I can fix all kinds of problems..."

That sounded somewhat naughty, which was a strange overlap with the innocent looking face of Omi's. Akaya had almost expected him to not know, or at the very least, be flustered. He smirked.

"What kinds of problems?" he pressed, stepping closer.

Omi had found that people had a tendency to either underestimate him or overlook him completely based on his appearance. It sucked sometimes, but it was what it was. He couldn't change the shape of his face or the largeness of his eyes. That meant he had to compensate for it with a flirting style that made clear he wasn't as innocent and passive as his looks recommended.

He held his place as Akaya stepped in.

"Oh, this and that," he answered with deliberate vagueness. It was no fun to spell out exactly what you might do, given the chance. He shifted his hand behind his head to press a button on a wristband that activated voice command.

"Share connection with Kirihara Akaya. Send file: business card. Send file: personal contact."

Within seconds, Akaya would get a personal alert of a transfer request.

"Hn," he said. Not going to be that direct. That was okay. Akaya enjoyed discovering things on his own. He reached up and tapped the earcuff that doubled as his wearable, accepting the request and sending back his own with the same motion.

"Are you busy tonight?"

Omi tapped his band to accept the returned contact information and dropped his hands, slipping one into his pocket.

"I don't have to be. My hours are pretty flexible… What do you have in mind?”

"I'm playing tonight at The Black Cat. I'll put you on the guest list," Akaya said, as though Omi would naturally agree to come. And why not? It's a hot ticket. And besides, surely he was curious to hear the fruits of his labor?

"I'll buy you a drink after."

Omi lifted his brow. Oh, so that was where he was playing. The invitation sounded interesting; he was curious to hear how those tunes from earlier sounded as part of a fully performed song. And Akaya seemed like a cool, good-looking guy. They hadn't talked much, but from what Omi had seen so far, he was confident, playful, laid back, and passionate about his music. He'd be stupid not to take Akaya up on the chance to get to know him better.

"Sure, sounds fun. What time?"

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