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Rock and Romance	By : OrangeJuice Category: Gravitation > General Views: 2828 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Gravitation, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 3
- 4
- 5
Rock and Romance

Warnings: Not much�

Archived: http://adultfan,nexcess,net/aff/story,php?no=544173771 ; http://fiction,gurabiteshiyon,net/story,php?no=722 ; http://www,fanfiction,net/s/2199767/1/

Chapter 4

Eiri stood awkwardly in the center of the club, glancing
around for sign of his band mates�they had removed the equipment from the
stage, which informed Eiri that Fujisaki was serious when he had said, �You�re
too sick to continue.�

Fujisaki was a know-it-all.
Eiri wasn�t sick, and he was certain that Fujisaki knew that. For all he knew, Fujisaki had some ulterior
motive to quit playing after the first song, but he didn�t know, nor did he
care, what that could be. Best to let
little nuisances to their own devices, because he didn�t want to have to play
mommy and watch the stupid rat.

God dammit�

Sadly enough, though, only recently had Eiri started
understanding that Fujisaki was, in fact, his only friend. The realization hit him hard when he had
been forced to ask to crash at Fujisaki�s place. The complaining and chastisement that went along with that was
inevitable and endless, but he appreciated it nonetheless. Fujisaki agreed to let him stay, even though
their personalities clashed like sandpaper.

�Sorry guys,� a voice came over the speakers. Eiri looked up at the stage to see a very
nerdy looking guy, decked out in yellow and orange, standing at the
microphone. �Bad Luck has copped out on
us,� this was followed by a great deal of groans from the audience�more than
Eiri was expecting�but the announcer only continued. ��S okay, though, you see.
We�ve got our DJ on hand, so you�ll still get some music. Besides, we have some more Bad Luck lined up
in the future�once the members recover��

Eiri had stopped listening by this time, having already
retreated back into his own world. He
was still smarting from the confrontation with Shuichi, as much as he hated to
admit it, and the guilt loaded him with visions of the stupid pink-haired brat
leaning over the sink with a small bruise already surfacing on his forehead.

It must have hurt.
Hitting his head on the faucet like that�

Eiri didn�t know why he had been so hostile. He had been glad to see Shuichi
again; he didn�t know why he had said what he did. He had lost control.
Shuichi had been calling out his name�
It made him so angry, but he couldn�t explain why. He had felt as if Shuichi didn�t have the
right to do such a thing.

�Stop pouting!
You�re always pouting like a toddler!�

Eiri turned around and glared before he even registered who
had spoken. His dark look came to rest
upon his two guitarists, Midori Ryotarou and Tachibana Akira. They both had their cases strapped to their
torsos over their jackets, looking about ready to leave.

�What do you want?� Eiri asked venomously, placing his hands
on his hips. He held his glare in
place, knowing that it was infuriating Midori.

�Where�s Suguru?� Midori asked, frowning back at Eiri.

�Hell if I know.�

�Why do you have to be so anal? You�re so annoying.�

�So I�ve been told.�

�Come on, Uesugi.
Stop acting like a brat. You�re
making things worse for yourself, you know,� Midori warned, leaning forward and
putting up his own glare against Eiri�s.

�Whatever. You�ve
known me long enough. Do you think I
actually care?� Eiri retorted, his face remaining hard.

�I swear, Uesugi�� Midori spat through clenched teeth as he
reached forward and grabbed Eiri�s collar menacingly, but Eiri merely continued
to glare at him, knowing it would set him off sooner or later�had they not been
so rudely interrupted.

�Would you two stop it already?� a new voice called, drawing
all three gazes. Fujisaki stood, his
hands perched on his waist, as he glared around at them. �Honestly!
How do you expect us to get anything worthwhile done if you keep acting
like spoiled brats? You�re going to tear
apart Bad Luck!�

Midori released Eiri�s collar and stepped back, but he
hardly looked sorry. �We already
have! I�m outta here, and so is
Akira! I�m not playing with an asshole
like this!� He swung his hand out and
whapped Eiri�s shoulder before quickly dodging the singer�s pounce. He smiled angrily at Eiri, and then snatched
Akira�s arm and hauled the other guitarist away with him.

Eiri stared after them, following with his eyes as they
weaved in and out of the dancers towards the exit, until he noticed a dark
glare angled in his direction. He
turned towards Fujisaki, tilting his head to the side as he looked down at the
younger keyboardist.

�You�re such an idiot, Eiri!� Fujisaki yelled, looking like
he was trying his best not to hit Eiri.
�Bad Luck�s over now, and it�s your fault!�

�What are you talking about? We don�t need them. My
synth will be good enough to cover a few guitarists.�

�No, it won�t, Eiri!
I can�t do that!�

�Of course you can.�

�No, I can�t.�

Eiri rolled his eyes and shifted his weight, letting one
hand drop to his side. �Fine then. I�ll do it, since you�re so inept.�

�That�s not the problem Eiri,� Fujisaki said in a chastising
tone. �The synth can only play back one
recording at a time. If I play along,
that�s only two parts. We need three to
cover for them. It won�t work. We won�t be able to play live.�

Eiri paused in a moment of thought, frowning even more when
he realized Fujisaki was right.

�This band is losing members too quickly,� Fujisaki
continued. �There�s no point in looking
for more�you�re such a dick, they won�t stick around. We might as well dissolve Bad Luck.�

�We can�t,� Eiri said firmly, using his best possible glare
in order to make Fujisaki stop.

�Come on! What are
we going to do? Maybe it�s time to
settle down, get real jobs. Give
up, Eiri,� Fujisaki added, doing the impossible and ignoring Eiri�s glare.

�You can�t expect me to give up, just like that!�

�I thought you hated singing anyway.�

�No, I don�t. I love
it. I love music. We can�t quit.�

Fujisaki scrutinized Eiri thoughtfully for a few minutes in
contemplation before releasing a smile and letting his eyes wander to the
ceiling in a half-assed eye roll. �It�s
funny. This is the first time I�ve seen
you so passionate about anything. Too
bad it�s too late.�

�Fuji��

�Ahem. Sorry to
interrupt.�

Eiri stopped, his mouth still hanging open in the processes
of pronouncing Fujisaki�s name, readying a glare for the interruption. He turned, closing his mouth, but his angry
expression vanished when he laid eyes upon the suit that was standing in front
of them. He quickly glanced back at
Fujisaki, whom was also staring at the newcomer in a strange sort of confusion.

The man was tall, but normal to the extreme. His black, neatly cropped hair was nicely
combed behind his ears, and he stood in a tense position, halfway in a bow,
with his eyes lowered to the ground.
His most noticeable feature in fact did not necessarily belong to him�he
was wearing a light gray suit, not unlike one an office worker would wear,
which stood out in the dark, wild club.

�You two are members of Bad Luck?� the man asked, lifting
his eyes slightly.

Fujisaki let out a sigh.
�I�m sorry. Are you a fan? I hesitate to say this, but I don�t think
Bad Luck exists anymore.�

Eiri let out a small grunt at the words, as if he had been
slapped, and earned himself a look from the newcomer, though he refused to meet
it.

�Why?� the newcomer asked, sounding almost afraid.

�Our guitarists quit.
We don�t have a band without them,� Fujisaki explained casually, acting
as though it made no difference to him, which only ticked Eiri off. Fujisaki lifted guilty eyes to him, and Eiri
stared back in warning.

�Well, that�s okay, because it was you two I wanted to talk
to anyway. You see, I work for NG
Records, and I came here looking for you.�

Eiri and Fujisaki both snapped their heads to the newcomer,
staring at him as if he were an alien.

�My name�s Sakano.
I�m wondering if you�ll reconsider your decision to destroy Bad Luck.�

Eiri felt his mouth drop open, though it was halfway trying
to form a smile through his look of utter shock.

I can�t believe this� Just in the
nick of time.

�How would you like to be stars?�

�I�ll show you��

(((==)))

For the first time in his life, Shuichi was enjoying being
alone. Sakano was off at work, leaving
the apartment solely to Shuichi, who used this opportunity to its fullest. The argument with Eiri the night before had
left him sore, and even though Sakano blamed himself for Shuichi�s depressed
mood (claiming that it was his own fault for not following and comforting him
in the bathroom) and had pledged to take better care of him, Shuichi was glad
he was gone. Sakano was coming close to
smothering him.

�One guy�s too close, the other�s too far away,� Shuichi
moaned, lifting his hand up from the covers to trace the edge of his wooden
nightstand. The intricately carved
designs, newly polished, entertained the tips of his fingers, though he didn�t
look at them. Now was not the time to
be bothering with reality. Right now,
he could imagine Eiri exactly the way he wanted him to be, and not the way he
really was.

Shuichi looked at the open door, studying it before lightly
closing his eyes and imagining the blond singer stalking through it, ducking
under the frame, and dragging his feet until he knelt down beside Shuichi�s
bed.

�I�m sorry, Shuichi,� Eiri would say, with an embarrassed
smile on his face. �I don�t know what
came over me. I guess I was just
confused. You see, I love you so very
much!�

Shuichi smiled, letting his eyelids gently drift open to
stare at the ceiling. He sat up and
looked around at his messy room, breathing a sigh as his smile softly faded
away. It would never happen. Eiri wasn�t like that, and Shuichi couldn�t
decide if he would still love Eiri so much if he were.

Trust me to fall in love with an asshole. I guess it�s kind of fun.

Shuichi stood, his oversized nightshirt falling lower around
his thighs, and walked sleepily towards the kitchen. He paused as he passed the couch, staring at it and all the
memories tied to it. It was still
cleared, except that Sakano had draped one of his shirts over the armrest, and
it still looked foreign to be clean.
Shuichi stared, the memory of Eiri burying him in the cushions
surfacing, bringing a tingling sensation to his eyes.

�I don�t suppose we�ll ever see each other again. I don�t want to see you again.�

�I saw you again,� Shuichi whispered, bringing his shaking
hand to his lips. �It was�almost like
fate��

The phone rang suddenly, causing Shuichi to jump out of his
thoughts. He glanced over at it wildly,
watching it ring away at its place on the coffee table, before leaping over the
armrest onto the couch to snatch it up.

�Hello?�

�Shindou-kun, it�s been awhile, hasn�t it?�

Shuichi�s blood ran cold, and his face paled upon hearing
the voice. He took a shaky breath,
leaning back into the cushions of the couch and pulling his knees to his chest.

�Tohma��

�How are you doing?
Are you well?�

Polite as ever.
Shuichi frowned. Tohma was
two-faced. The man only cared about
himself; it was what sent everything crashing down in Shuichi�s life.

�What do you want, Tohma?� Shuichi growled.

Tohma chuckled softly over the line. �Straight to the point, eh, Shuichi? Fine then.
I was talking to Sakano earlier today,� Shuichi held his breath, �and I understand
that you two are having some problems��

�So what? It�s none
of your business!� Shuichi cried, almost desperately. He knew better than to let Tohma get involved. Once Tohma was in the game, his affair with
Eiri would be instantly uncovered. And,
worst of all, that could ruin Eiri; if Sakano found out that Shuichi was
cheating on him with one of his employees, well, Eiri was still expendable to
NG.

The worst part about it, though, was that if Tohma was
really interested, there was nothing Shuichi could do to stop him.

�Calm down, Shuichi.
I�m only trying to help.�

�No, you�re not! If
you want to help, stay out of it! I can
handle things on my own!� Shuichi yelled.
�You�ll only make things worse.�

There was a long silence that followed that, before Tohma
finally spoke again. �How about we meet
for lunch? We can talk about this in
person��

If there was any color left in Shuichi�s face before, it was
gone now. �No� No!
Two years ago, I told you no, and I meant it! I don�t ever want to see you again!�

Shuichi swung his hand to his mouth when his own words
registered in his brain. He almost
dropped the phone, and his eyes glazed with horror, gathering tears that would
never fall.

�Look, I told you no, and I meant it. I don�t ever want to see your face
again, do you understand?�

You�re right, Eiri, Shuichi thought, blinking back
tears. You told me I know nothing
about love, and you were right. Once,
what I thought was love turned out to be something completely different. Is it the same with you? Am I wrong about my feelings for you,
too? Is that why you hate me so much?

�I�m sorry, Shuichi.
I have to go,� Tohma�s voice returned to his ear, and Shuichi blinked
himself back into reality. �I have a
meeting scheduled with a new band. I
must hang up now, but please, just know this:
I�m still your friend, okay?
I�ll watch out for you.�

With that, the line clicked dead, but Shuichi remained where
he was, frozen stiff, clutching the beeping phone to his ear. He wondered how many things he could
actually keep from Sakano. He had�never
mentioned Tohma before either.

The cushions of the couch seemed to be sucking him in, and
Shuichi only relaxed his body in response, allowing himself to be buried in the
squishy comfort. A sad, bitter smile
fluttered across his face, turning his expression cold and grotesque if for
only a minute. His eyes glazed for a
second before he inhaled sharply and pulled himself from the couch�s grip. The cordless phone�s beeping was silenced
when he pressed the button, but soon enough it started up again, shrieking at
him for his attention.

�Hello�?� he asked pathetically with a deep fear that it
would be Tohma again.

�Hello, Shindou-san?
This is Mizuki. Are you all
right?�

Shuichi breathed a sigh and sunk to the floor. Of all the people who could have been
calling, he decided Mizuki would probably be the one he most wanted to talk
to. She was only an editor, and the two
were still on a professional basis, but she was kind and friendly. She was the last person he knew that would
ever ask him about his private relationships.

�I�m fine. Sorry, I
was just a little bit startled when the phone rang,� Shuichi said, smiling at
the image he had of her in his mind.

�I�m glad. I have a
new promotional opportunity for Rose; there�s a book tour coming up that
includes a bunch of famous authors, and you�ve been asked to join. It will last for about two months and end
here in Tokyo. I was wondering if you�re
interested�it�s kind of short notice.
You�d have to leave on Saturday.�

Shuichi found himself relaxing even more from just the
melodic sound of her voice�here was a person who was normal, unlike all the
dysfunctional weirdoes he managed to get himself mixed up with. Besides, a book tour sounded good. Even though most authors considered them
hassles, Shuichi thought of tours as vacations. They spelled the rare break from his decaying life.

�Okay, I�m up for it,� Shuichi offered eagerly. �Where are we going this time?�

(((==)))

Eiri lifted the one book he owned closer to his face, biting
his lip as he studied the picture printed above the caption, �About the
Author.� The pink hair looked a little
weird in this photo for some reason; Eiri wondered if it was just a bad
picture. Shuichi didn�t look much like
he did in real life.

Shindou Shuichi was born in Tokyo, where he grew up with
his parents and younger sister. Although
he got bad grades in high school, Shindou was regarded as an intelligent
individual. His first novel, Electric,
was published when he was a junior in high school at age seventeen. Shindou is currently nineteen and resides in
his own apartment in Tokyo. Rose
is his second novel.

�Doesn�t say anything about his love life,� Eiri muttered,
setting the book down in the empty chair next to him. He looked up at Fujisaki, who was pacing nervously.

�What is that you keep reading, anyway?� Fujisaki asked,
glancing down at the book. He lifted a
mocking eyebrow when he noticed the array of pink and red roses that blanketed
the cover. �Rose?�

Eiri laughed. �Tell
me about it. I spent the last of my
money on this piece of shit.�

�Why?�

A good question with an answer that, although it was rather
obvious, Eiri hadn�t quite admitted to himself yet. Eiri merely shrugged in response.

�Whatever,� Fujisaki said, taking a seat in the chair next
to the one that embraced the book. �I
wish Seguchi-san would hurry. I�m about
to die here.�

�What? We�ve already
been scouted. They asked us to
come here. I don�t think you have to
worry so much.�

�You�re right, I guess,� Fujisaki muttered, setting his chin
on his fist. �Poor Midori and
Tachibana. They left at the worst
possible time.�

�It�s their fault for being impatient.�

�It�s your fault for being an ass.�

�I don�t feel guilty,� Eiri muttered. After a brief pause, he quickly added,
�About that.� He wasn�t sure why he
felt the need to tack that onto the end of his sentence, but he was certain he
did feel guilty. About Shuichi.

�Yeah? What are
you guilty about then, huh?� Fujisaki prompted, leaning forward eagerly.

Eiri cursed himself under his breath. He had set himself up for that one, and he
knew it. Just his intonation alone had
suggested that something was bothering him, and now he would have to tell
Fujisaki.

When he opened his mouth to start spilling, his was more
than grateful for the interruption.

�I�m sorry it took so long,� Seguchi Tohma said from the now
open doorway. �Something came up. Please, come in.�

Eiri studied the man, the boss of NG, finding himself
surprised with his slight build and pretty face. He didn�t look at all the monster for which he was famous. Instead he looked polite, gentle, and
angelic, even in the way he gracefully strode back to his chair behind his
desk. His clothes were wild but tame, weird
but fashionable, and ever so stylish.
Eiri and Fujisaki awkwardly took their seats, watching as Seguchi sifted
through several stacks of paper.

�Can I have your names, please?� Seguchi asked, picking up a
pen from his desk.

�Fujisaki Suguru,� Fujisaki interjected, shifting
nervously. Seguchi scratched onto the
paper without even looking up until he was finished, and his wide, innocent
looking eyes came to rest inquisitively upon Eiri.

�Yuki Eiri.�

Eiri saw out of the corner of his eyes Fujisaki turn to look
at him, surprised. Seguchi didn�t move
to write it down, as he had for Fujisaki, but continued to stare at Eiri.

�Is that your real name?� Seguchi asked suspiciously.

�Of course not.�

A smile chased away Seguchi�s frown as he chuckled and
turned back to his sheet of paper.
�Yuki Eiri, eh?� he asked, scribbling it with the pen as he spoke. �I like you. What�s your real name?
This is for contact purposes, not for public usage.�

�Uesugi.�

�I understand. Yuki
has a nicer ring to it.� Seguchi smiled
brightly, revealing a perfect set of glittering white teeth behind his full
lips. �Anyway, I�ve been informed that
you need new guitarists. We�re
currently a little short on guitarists�
We�ll be hiring more soon, but for now, I�ve only got one free one.�

�It�s okay!� Fujisaki exclaimed, his voice cracking,
illustrating his nervousness. �We can
make do with only one for now. We have
a pretty good synthesizer��

Seguchi opened his mouth, looking about ready to speak, but
a gentle knock on the door stopped him.
He paused a moment, seeming to debate something in his head, before
heaving a sigh and calling out, �Come in!�

The door open softly, and the three occupants in the room
turned to look at the newcomer.
Decorated with only a pair of jeans and matching denim jacket over a
white T-shirt, with long brown hair and a pretty, yet masculine face, he looked
like the classic rocker. He stepped
inside silently and closed the door with the tiniest click.

�Don�t worry about that,� Seguchi said, turning back to
Fujisaki, continuing as if nothing had changed. �Actually, this guitarist was originally going to be assigned to
a band that signed on a few weeks ago, but�
Well, let�s just he�s the best we�ve got, and he�ll fit better with
you.�

�What do you mean, �fit better�?�� Eiri started, but Seguchi
shrugged.

�Yuki Eiri, Fujisaki Suguru,� Seguchi said, leaning back
deeply into his cushioned leather chair, bending his elbows with his hands
cupping the back of his head as if he were trying to demonstrate just how
comfortable he was, �this is Nakano Hiroshi.
Your new guitarist.�

TBC

(((==)))

Notes: This chapter
reeks of set-up-ness. None but the best
can avoid it, but alas, I�ve not yet been inducted into such a prestigious
society. I ogle at the amount of
reviews that a single story can manage to obtain, and I feel empty inside, like
a cold, hard�turkey�

Eh-heh� No
wonder� Putting that aside, since it
made only a very stupid sort of sense anyway, thank you again and again to you
reviewers out there.

And, I got my first bad review for this story!!! Yay!
And it was a very uneducated one at that: Okay, Amaya, let�s first get this out into the open. 1000 yen is NOT equal to $1.60. I don�t know what currency exchange rate
you�re looking at, but maybe you should try something different. When I read your review, I actually went and
checked the exchange rate to be sure, and voila. You see, Amaya, when it says $1.00 is equal to 102.03 yen
(1/16/05), it means one yen is more or less equal to one penny. Hence, 1000 yen is a little less that
$10. Simple math. Also, about the offensive Goth stuff�hate to
tell you, but I have nothing against Goths, or any subculture for that matter,
not even those �little preps� that you certainly don�t seem to like very much. I hope you realize that I put that in there
to CHARACTERIZE Eiri. I assumed that
people with half a brain, or any reading skills at all, would be able to figure
that out (of course, maybe that doesn�t apply to you). And as for the story I wrote in Japanese,
perhaps you could review that story, telling me which words I
messed up; that would certainly be much more helpful than saying it makes no
�sence,� and leaving it at that. If you
have comments on that story, comment on it in that story, because the
way you vaguely mentioned it here makes you sound jealous. (If anyone wants to read this review, it�s
on the Fanfiction Net review page for this story. It�s really funny; you should check it out.)

That�s probably pretty wrong of me, to reply only to the bad
reviews, but I�m sorry. That one was
just asking for it. I couldn�t
resist. I�ve done review replies in one
of my other stories, but I found it to be really difficult to do; Fanfiction
Net always takes forever to get new reviews, so I always miss people,
and I always feel bad when I do.
Besides, I have one response to answer all reviews: THANK YOU!!! I consider your suggestions, if you have
them, when I write new chapters, and I love the encouragement you give me when
you don�t have suggestions. Your
reviews are much more appreciated than flames like lovely Amaya�s.

One last thing (sorry that these notes are endless): if
anyone has any good ideas for the direction of this story, send it in a
review. I didn�t think I�d even get
this far in this story, but lately I�ve really gotten in to original fiction,
so my brain is sore from coming up with so many ideas, and I�m kinda stuck
here. Any feedback is welcome, as I
hope I made obvious with the last paragraph.

Until next time,

Cassi.
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Rock and Romance