Vol 2 Chapter 4 (1/2)

CHAPTER 4

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“…He really just has no presence…” Rei muttered softly to himself, ensuring that none around him at the recording he’d sat in on could hear the comment. Just beyond his eyeline stood a fresh-faced newbie who’d only recently signed on with the entertainment agency Rei worked for, SenaPro.

He’d earned pa.s.sing marks in the looks and singing talent departments—Rei had made sure of that when he’d chosen the boy—but now that they were here in the studio, it was all too clear that he lacked that quintessential presence.

Maybe it was best phrased that he lacked that certain something that made people think Wow, it’s GOTTA be this guy!

Rei had used a number of personal connections to land this guy a TV spot—but no further offers had come after that. Entertainers who really popped tended to be invited back before the recording was even over, or had the phones ringing off the hook immediately after airing.

Still, Rei had clung to hope that somehow, if he just hung in there, things would turn out right this time—and yet…

He supposed that ‘presence’—that aura that emanated from celebrities and entertainers—was something innate. Or at least, he’d started feeling that way of late.

’…That guy definitely had innate presence…’

Sena Shougo. He’d been a regular thoroughbred, the offspring of the president of Rei’s workplace SenaPro, Sena Seiya, and the notable actress Nagisa.

Shougo himself had, unfortunately, had no interest whatsoever in joining he entertainment industry—but his mere presence had a way of changing the atmosphere of any room he walked into.

But then he’d gone and confessed that he was in love with Rei, boasting that he would surpa.s.s Rei’s beloved Seiya in an effort to win Rei’s affections…and then disappeared. It had been three years now since he’d left the Sena household. Back then, SenaPro had been struggling in the wake of a polyp found on Seiya’s vocal cords—and both Rei and Seiya had been worrying over finding someone who might one day be able to take over the company.

Spurred on by Seiya’s fond hope that Shougo might fill his shoes eventually, Rei encouraged Shougo to devote himself to becoming a singer—all for the sake of his beloved Seiya.

But…while he’d never outright asked them, from the way Seiya and Nagisa behaved, it was clear that Shougo hadn’t contacted either of them once in these past three years. In the meantime, times had been tough as ever for SenaPro, and Rei was struggling daily with worry over the company’s future—for two reasons, primarily.

One was the fact that, because of the surgery to remove the polyp, Seiya’s workload had been cut. The operation had been successful, but considering the possibility of a recurrence, it was difficult to expect him to continue working at the pace he’d been going before the operation.

The other issue, however, was something Rei had been struggling with for quite some time: the fact that there were just no promising new entertainers joining their ranks. It was no exaggeration to say that Nagisa’s work alone was all that was keeping SenaPro afloat at the moment.

But Nagisa was a flighty creature, and there was no telling when one would find her in a mood, refusing to get her work done. It was enough to give Rei a round-the-clock headache.

Given the state of Seiya’s throat, though, Rei didn’t want him pus.h.i.+ng himself more than he already was…which meant he had to find someone, someone new and fresh, to pull them out of this worrisome slump.

…I guess this one’s a loss then, huh… The singer definitely had the drive, and Rei wanted to give him all the support he could muster, but SenaPro was at its core something like Seiya and Nagisa’s personal agency, and despite the personal connections Rei had with them, he couldn’t offer the flashy production a bigger agency might be able to pull off.

Which meant an artist’s success or failure rode largely on their own personal talent in this case, and while Rei had done his level best these past three years, nothing seemed to be going quite right.

It was as he was entertaining these dark thoughts, though, that a voice called out to him. “You guys over at SenaPro sure are digging your heels in and fighting it out! Though I dare say we’re in the same boat as you.” The comment came from a man called Kiuchi, a manager for a large-scale production agency. He was probably here in the same capacity as Rei, accompanying an entertainer.

“Indeed…we just can’t seem to stumble upon any really flashy talents…” Kiuchi seemed rather fond of Rei and would strike up a conversation most any time they crossed paths.

“You know, it occurs to me that SenaPro-san’s best option…would be you Sagara-san. How about it? We’ve got openings at my agency, after all…”

“Noooo no no, thank you, but I’m not suited for an entertainer’s life,” Rei responded easily with a wry grin. It was hardly the first time Kiuchi had suggested it, after all, and while Rei admittedly found it annoying how he kept at it, this was a business where connections were important, so he took care to avoid coming off irritated, instead showing nothing but smiles.

“That reminds me, Sagara-san—have you heard?”

“Heard what?”

“About that super popular indies band—they’re all amateurs, and yet they sold out the entire Budoukan arena the first day tickets went on sale!”

“Wait—the Budoukan?” Rei’s eyes flared wide; he hadn’t heard anything about this, but he couldn’t hide his curiosity. While it wasn’t as if there was no precedent for an amateur group to hold a live at the Budoukan arena, for such a band to have so large and faithful a following to completely sell out the very day tickets went on sale…well that was a bit hard to believe. “What’s their band name?”

“Hmm, let’s see, I think it was…the CRUSHERZ, I believe?” At this, he dropped his voice a bit. “They’ve got quite a bit of mystery surrounding them, you know. No one even knows the names of the members, and agencies all over are champing at the bit to get a piece of them.”

“I see…” He definitely had never heard of this band. After all, a rock band wasn’t exactly a genre SenaPro had much involvement with, and he’d neglected to check them out. But if they were truly as popular as Kiuchi made them out to be, then all of the music agencies had to be in a frenzy hoping to land a contract with the CRUSHERZ. Not that SenaPro wasn’t in the game as well, but no matter how things unfurled, there was no way that SenaPro was going to nab new artists like them. “In that case, I highly doubt that a small-time agency such as our own will have much of a chance in this fight.”

He wouldn’t deny momentarily entertaining fantasies of what might happen if so huge a band took up with SenaPro, but it was beyond the realm of possibility. He could give it a shot, despite knowing he’d be turned down, but before that he’d have to see the band in action.

Except they’d sold out of tickets already, so he probably couldn’t even get into the arena…

“Oh, hey!” Kiuchi gave an excited little shout as Rei let a sigh slip over his lips.

“What’s the matter?”

“I actually might have an extra VIP ticket for that CRUSHERZ concert. Would you like to come along?”

“Eh—?” This was more than unexpected—like a liferaft at sea. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely! It’s a premiere ticket…but I’ll let you have it, special!”

“Thank you so much!” ’Thank G.o.d for riding coattails! Good thing I got this guy to like me!’ Rei reflected mentally, adopting a victory pose inside his mind and taking care that it didn’t slip onto his features, offering only a bright smile in return.

“Thank you again for inviting me.”

“Not at all, you’re quite welcome!”

The day of the concert had arrived, and Rei met up with Kiuchi near the VIP entrance to the Budoukan arena before heading to their seats. The VIP seats were located on the first floor, along the middle of the southern wall, and Rei was seated in the second row.

“Quite a crowd here today…” He’d expected as such, given that tickets had sold out the day they’d gone on sale, but it was hard to believe this was a concert for an indies band. It wasn’t just the crowd, either; a glance around showed other special guests from any number of record labels sitting nearby, including popular musicians and entertainers. This was testament to just how famous this band already was among industry insiders.

As Rei cast his gaze around the arena, he could see enthusiastic fans on pins and needles waiting for the concert to start. What sort of band were these people…? Rei had thought to do a little bit of research after his conversation with Kiuchi before but hadn’t been able to spare the time, truthfully, and subtle questions to those around him had revealed that, as Kiuchi had said, no one knew the members’ names, nor could anyone get their hands on pictures of the members. Their label as “a band of many mysteries” hadn’t been exaggeration, it seemed.

A bit longer, and the house lights dimmed as the sound of a siren filled the arena, the screams and cheers of the audience crescendoing to shake the very foundation of the building itself as a huge monitor at center stage lit up with colorful images.

A light flickered on, illuminating first the left-hand side of the stage—and the moment a man appeared with a guitar in his hand, the screams ratcheted up another level.

”R!”

It seemed this guitarist was known as “R”—though it was hard to tell if this was just an initial or if it held some deeper significance.

Next, a light shone down on the right-hand side of the stage, and another guitarist made his entrance.

“A—double guitar?” Rei blinked in shock.

”H…!” the voices screamed this time.

Then, at last, the spotlight illuminated center stage.

”S—!!” came the shrieks, even louder than before.

This was probably the vocalist—he didn’t seem to be holding an instrument, after all. But, wait a minute…

“—?!” SHOUGO?!

All sound fell away in that instant, so great was the shock to Rei’s system. He was surrounded by a chorus of screams substantial enough to shake him to the bone—but his entire field of vision was occupied solely by the sight of Shougo standing there before him.

He recognized him immediately, despite the sungla.s.ses he wore to cover his features. That was, without a doubt, Shougo.

“Shougo…”

This was Shougo, there was no mistaking it—the very same Shougo who’d disappeared without a trace three years prior, desperate to surpa.s.s his father and make Rei look at him, the same Shougo who had fallen off the face of the planet until this moment.

A song had started up without Rei realizing it, and after the intro, as soon as Shougo opened his mouth and started to sing—sound returned to Rei’s world.

“…!”

He was utterly blown away.

This was worlds away from the soothing sound of Seiya’s singing—Shougo’s voice thrilled to the core, firing up listeners from the inside with a sensational, impactful sound.

“Amazing…” His skin p.r.i.c.kled with gooseb.u.mps as a shudder rippled through him—and he couldn’t stop shaking. That was howastounding Shougo’s singing was. And more than anything else, the man had an almost terrifying presence, standing there on that stage. He shone with glinting brilliance. “That…is definitely Seiya-san’s son…”

Yet despite knowing that, he still couldn’t help the shock and awe that filled him—for someone, even someone with the genetics Shougo had, to come this far in a mere three years…

He hadn’t a clue what Shougo had been doing these past three years, but…

’…You really have come back with a bang, huh…’

Three hours pa.s.sed in the blink of an eye, and in short order, the house lights came up and a voice over the auditorium speakers began directing attendees toward the nearest exits.

“Sagara-san…?” Rei snapped back to his senses, still having been caught up in the tension of the concert, when Kiuchi called out to him. Fl.u.s.tered, he began making motions to stand up. “What’s the matter?”

“No—just, I have to…I have to go backstage…” he murmured softly, head still swimming with excitement and confusion.

“That’s impossible, Sagara-san. We’ve all been told that the band members won’t be seeing any industry professionals. They’re not letting anyone back there.”

“But…!” He wanted to a.s.sure Kiuchi, with that wry grin of his, thatthat wasn’t the reason he needed to go backstage, but with some effort, he bit back his argument. He probably ought to keep quiet about the fact that he knew S’s true ident.i.ty to be that of Seiya’s son. “…I’m sorry, please excuse me.”

He knew he was being exceedingly rude to Kiuchi, who’d gone through the effort to procure him a ticket, but he couldn’t hold himself back, and without so much as an explanation, he took off, headed for the dressing rooms—running smack into a staff member guarding the long hallway leading backstage.

It was just as Kiuchi had warned: no one was being allowed to meet with the band members, and even big-name agencies were being stopped at the door.

But Rei was not one to be so easily put off; not when the CRUSHERZ had Shougo as their lead vocal. He pressed through the wave of people and called out to a nearby staff member, “Excuse me, could I possibly see the CRUSHERZ members—”

“I’m terribly sorry, but absolutely no one, no matter who they may be, is to be allowed through,” came the curt reply, and Rei was suddenly filled with the strange sense of having experienced something like this before.

’That winter night…’ That was when he’d bowed his head trying to be allowed through to see Seiya… He’d begged a staff member over and over to let him through to see Seiya. He hadn’t the faintest idea why he was remembering something like that now of all times, but he couldn’t bring himself to give up just yet and opened his mouth again: “If you can just let them know that I’m Sagara Rei of SenaPro, I’m sure they’ll understand. Please, let me see Shougo—I mean, S!”

“I’m sorry, but I just can’t do that. The band members are about to leave anyway.” He’d probably said such things a dozen times before, and with a final tongue click at the staff member who offered him a pained smile, Rei found an unguarded opening and pushed past the man. “Ah, please wait!”

He ignored the calls to stop and dashed straight for the dressing rooms. He could hear the staff members chasing after him, but he couldn’t stop. And then—

He caught sight of a group ahead of him, heading for the parking garage. His eyes flared wide, and he screeched to a halt as his eyes fell on the back of a figure he definitely recognized.

“Shougo!!”

He shouted the name at the man—and it must have reached him, for the figure jerked around seeming in shock…and it was mostdefinitely Shougo.

“Shou—”

But the moment Shougo recognized Rei, an expression of shock and panic washed over his face, as if he’d just seen the very last person in the world he’d hoped to meet—and quickly turning on his heel, he darted off, fleeing.

The rest of the group must have been just as shocked by Shougo’s behavior, for they chased after him in a frantic tizzy. It was an altogether quite unexpected reaction.

“What…the h.e.l.l…?!” ’ What was with that reaction…? Why would he run after seeing me…?’ It was utterly unthinkable of the Shougo from three years before.

As he stood there, frozen in shock, he thought to chase after Shougo again—but his own trail of staff members finally caught up with him. “I really am sorry, but you’ll have to leave!” The man blocked his path, sharply ordering Rei to make his way back. He knew he’d be making the situation worse if he didn’t withdraw here, but he just couldn’t bring himself to give up and flicked his glance once more along the path Shougo had fled.

But Shougo was long gone now.

That night…

As Rei settled down with a sigh on his rug, he brought the can of beer he’d taken from the fridge to his lips. This bachelor pad apartment of his was primarily used for sleeping after a long day’s work, and despite the pa.s.sage of time, it was still quite spa.r.s.ely decorated.

“Why…did Shougo run away after seeing me…?”

On the way home, and even after reaching the apartment, he’d agonized over trying to figure out what had just transpired. After the incident, he’d apologized to the staff members and complied with their requests, apologizing once more to Kiuchi after regrouping with him. Thankfully, Kiuchi forgave him with a wry grin, apparently convinced that Rei had just wanted to sign the CRUSHERZ on with SenaPro after seeing the concert so badly that he was unable to contain himself and rushed backstage. And he hadn’t been entirely mistaken in that belief.

The CRUSHERZ concert had been amazing—even if it hadn’t been Shougo up there on vocals, he may well have tried to slip down that hallway still. But the reason he’d gone so far as to shove past the staff members and chase after the band…had been because Shougo had been the one up on mic.

And yet… “Does the fact that he ran away after seeing me…mean that he doesn’t want to see me anymore…?”

He would never forget the look on Shougo’s face at that moment: an expression of shocked panic. An expression that seemed to say Oh s.h.i.+t—and even if that wasn’t the case, at the very least it was not an expression that said Shougo was happy to see Rei again.

But Rei was just as shocked at how hard he was taking this incident. Every time he thought about it, a cold shudder seemed to ripple down his spine. “Well, it has been three years… Maybe he’s fallen in love with someone else…?” he muttered to himself, then shook his head furiously.

’Even if that were the case, it wouldn’t matter. In fact, it’d be a weight off my shoulders if he would give up on me…’ he told himself, but for some reason, he couldn’t shake the feeling of some sharp pain lingering in his chest.

It seemed that Rei had just a.s.sumed…that Shougo would still l.u.s.t after him even now, just as he had three years before—which, when he stopped to think about it, was a rather shameless and arrogant a.s.sumption.

Three years was a long time. For himself, of course, but it would probably feel even longer to Shougo, being younger than Rei. It was hardly strange for someone to lose any romantic feelings they might have held for a person they hadn’t seen in three years. In fact, when he stopped to think about it rationally, it would’ve beenstranger for Shougo to have waited for him all this time, despite not seeing him once in their time apart.

He sighed and knocked back the can of beer. He was probably the one mistaken here, having convinced himself that Shougo still loved him even now.

“…But that’s not what I ought to be focusing on right now.” The more important matter at the moment was not Shougo himself but the CRUSHERZ as a whole. He had to get the CRUSHERZ to sign with SenaPro somehow. When he’d first heard about the situation, he’d written it off as utterly impossible, but…Shougo being lead vocals changed everything now.

And more than anything else—one had to take into account thatoverwhelming singing voice. Since hearing Shougo belt out those songs on stage, he could think of no one else more suited to succeed Seiya than Shougo. Given that Shougo fled on seeing Rei, he might have to adopt some unorthodox methods, but he had to convince Shougo to sign with them, somehow.

First—an appointment…but as he began to formulate a plan, his eyes widened in shock. “How…am I going to contact with him?” It was only now that he realized he didn’t know any way of getting in touch with Shougo. And Shougo probably didn’t know Rei’s contact information either.

Three years ago, before he’d left on his journey, Shougo had always dropped by at the most random of times, showing up in his room out of the blue. He’d never once called Rei to let him know he’d be coming in advance. Granted, at the time, Rei had been living with the Sena family, so for Shougo it was just part of coming home, but the fact remained unchanged.

“Oh yeah…Seiya-san should at least know his cell phone number…” He hadn’t heard Seiya mention anything about being in contact with Shougo, but he was Shougo’s family—so surely he knew. Maybe this would be a good opportunity to let Seiya know the current situation, as well…

At the very least, he’d hit up Seiya first thing in the morning. Though even if he managed to secure an appointment, there was no guarantee that Shougo would explain his behavior today…

“No no, I can’t chicken out now.” He needed to focus on getting the CRUSHERZ to debut with SenaPro—and with that decision made, he finished off his beer.

“You want Shougo’s contact information?”

“Yes.”

The next morning, after arriving at the SenaPro offices in the Sena family home as usual, Rei took it upon himself to immediately ask Seiya, who was enjoying a relaxing breakfast, for some way of contacting Shougo. Nagisa and Izumi were nowhere to be seen—likely still fast asleep.

“Well, I know his cell phone number and e-mail address…but that’s a.s.suming he hasn’t changed them.” With this, he slipped his cell phone from his pocket and began flipping through the address book. “But why are you bringing up Shougo all of a sudden?”

It was hardly surprising he’d be a bit suspicious of Rei’s intentions. “…Actually, yesterday, I went to a concert for an indies band called the CRUSHERZ…” Rei began, relating the entire tale to Seiya who listened with curious interest. He told Seiya all about how they’d sold out the entire Budokan arena despite not having even debuted properly yet, about what an amazing concert it had been, and how Shougo had been singing lead vocals—but he couldn’t bring himself to admit how Shougo had run away from him, instead bluffing that he’d been stopped at the door by staff members and unable to see him.

“Wow, so Shougo, huh…” Seiya seemed shocked, but an air of happiness brought out a smile on his features. “I see…well that’s great news indeed!” No one had been happier than Seiya both when Shougo had left home and when he’d vowed to become a singer, so Rei had known that he’d be thrilled to hear about Shougo’s current activities. “This really is great—if he signs on with SenaPro, then we’re all set!”

“Indeed. I’ll get him here if I have to drag him!” Seeing how excited Seiya was at the prospect, Rei resolved to do whatever it took to get Shougo to sign a contract with SenaPro.

…However…

After clearing some time in the afternoon, Rei sat at his desk alone, simply staring at the line of digits that represented Shougo’s contact information.

“Should I…call him? Or maybe text him first to feel him out?” Images of Shougo’s expression from the day before when he’d caught sight of Rei flashed in the back on his mind. Given his behavior, Rei couldn’t expect any sort of immediate response, he reasoned, and an attempt to get close too quickly would only result in Shougo fleeing again. “Which means…a text message it is.” With his decision made, he quickly tapped out a message, and after a bit of hesitation, he opted for the same level of formality he would have used with any other artist.

He’d send this message and wait a bit to see how things panned out. If he didn’t receive a response in the next few days, then he’d try again via phone—

—but only moments after sending the message, his phone vibrated, and Rei quickly scrambled to check the sender: Shougo, the person he’d only just texted. His heart gave a thudding leap in his chest as he opened the message—but the contents were rather succinct.

/I’m sorry about yesterday. I’ll be in Studio NEO all day today./

“What…does this mean?” His thoughts began swirling in confusion once again. He’d written I’m sorry about yesterday, but…what exactly was he sorry for? The simplest conclusion was that he was apologizing for running away, but then that meant… “…He had some reason for running away from me…?”

No no no, he could just as easily be apologizing for being so rude to someone he knew relatively well. There was no way of telling what kind of meaning might truly be implied by such a short message—but if there had been some reason Shougo had run away from him before…

And then there was the fact that he’d mentioned being in Studio NEO the whole day—which most would a.s.sume to mean it was all right for Rei to come by. So yesterday he’d run away with that strange expression on his face—and today he was telling Rei to come see him?

He couldn’t begin to fathom what sort of s.h.i.+ft had occurred in Shougo’s mental state, but at the very least, if he’d truly found Rei annoying now or hadn’t wanted to see him anymore…he wouldn’t write something like this, right?

’So maybe…Shougo does still care about me…?’ For some reason, the moment that thought sprouted in his mind, he felt a warmth rush through his body as his temperature rose. Naturally, though, while that possibility existed, there was no way to know for sure…

“There’s no point in worrying aimlessly over this!” he reminded himself, then snapped to his feet. No matter how long he sat and stared at his phone, the message was never going to change. It was better to act than to sit around fretting. “First things first: I’ll go start up negotiations as a member of SenaPro!” And with that, he hurried from the offices and headed straight for Shougo’s studio.

On arriving at the Studio NEO rehearsal s.p.a.ce, he asked for the CRUSHERZ room number and then headed into the studio proper.

“So…this is it?” He drew to a stop before the door leading into the room and peered inside through the small window. They didn’t seem to be in the middle of rehearsal, and while Shougo was nowhere to be seen, this was indeed the room he’d been directed to at the reception desk.

With a deep breath, he steeled himself and stepped through the door. “Umm…”

At his entrance, every eye in the room, swiveled to face him, and Rei quailed a bit under so much attention, running his gaze around the room searching desperately for Shougo’s form. But he wasn’t here—however…

“I…I heard that Shougo was here…?”

“AH!” As soon as Rei spoke, the two young men who’d been lounging on the sofa sprang to their feet. “You’re Rei-san aren’t you??”

Rei’s eyes flared wide in shock at having his name spoken, and caught up in the flow of conversation, he nodded. “Y—yes, I am…?”

“I knew it!!”

“Ooh, yeah he’s a total hottie, for a guy!”

The pair drew close, peering into his face in deep consideration, as if he were some rare animal they’d stumbled upon.

“Uh…” Rei stared at them blankly, thrown off by their enthusiasm initially, until he began to get the feeling that he’d seen them somewhere before. “Ah—you two were playing the guitars yesterday…”

“Yup!”

It wasn’t quite the same, seeing them here, as on stage, so he hadn’t realized immediately, but there was no mistaking it: these were the other two CRUSHERZ members. But…how did they know him? Naturally, Shougo was their only point in common, but so he had to have said something…

And now he was starting to get a very bad feeling.

“I’m the guitarist, Haru! Though I’m going by ‘H’ for now.” Haru flashed him a friendly grin, his features slender and beautiful. His long hair had been pulled up into a tight tail, likely because he was in off-mode right now.

“And I’m the other guitarist, Rinpei—the one they call ‘R’!” Rinpei’s short-cropped, spiky hair was bleached blond, giving him a decidedly ‘rock’-ish air, and despite being inside the studio, he wore sungla.s.ses even now.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you; I’m Sagara Rei, of SenaPro.” These men were a far cry from what he’d expected of members of a band rooted in such mystery, but despite any internal misgivings he might have had about the friendly pair, he still pa.s.sed them his business card.

They took the proffered cards but didn’t stop their babbling. “Y’know, Shougo-kun goes on about you aaaaaall the time!”

“Yup yup! Talking about how he’s gonna sell a million alb.u.ms just for you, how he’s gonna make it big just for you!”