Hello! Here's my new fic called "Fame". I'm just posting the first chapter, just to get my idea into a story. I have other ongoing fics, so I'll come back to this one when I'm feeling up to it. If you enjoy this chapter, please review and favorite! Thanks!
WARNING: Rated M for possible lemons in the future. (I haven't decided yet)
The crosswalks of the city were heavily blocked by a wave of girls, from teens to early thirty year olds. 24 year old Tohru, pushing her way through the dense crowd, finally managed to take a breath of fresh, open air. Being stuck in a crowd like that surely was not good for a young woman's health.
The brunette smoothed down her long brown locks, which resembled a bird's nest after being run over by the herd of girls.
"I'm gonna be late for the interview!" exclaimed Tohru. She stumbled in her new heels. She sighed and straightened up her back, plastering a smile on her face. She was going to rock this interview. Or so she tried to convince herself.
As she power-walked along the sidewalk as best as she could, avoiding smaller herds of girls running her way, she heard the faint melody of an electric guitar and the strong beat of drums behind her.
The brunette couldn't help but turn around. She was drawn to the distinct tune. The music is so nice...There'll be more interviews in the future...I'll just miss this one. She took off her heels, rubbing her ankles as she did so. Heels in hand, she bare-footedly followed the path that many other girls had excitedly taken.
The music was getting louder and Tohru knew she was heading in the right direction. That and a gazillion girls were screaming at once. The flashing lights might have been a clue as well.
Tohru's eyes were immediately drawn to the colorful stage. Ah, an outdoor concert? In the middle of the city?
In the center of the stage was a gorgeous man, silver strands of hair reaching down to his slim waist, eyes closed, singing. Tohru felt her jaw drop. She had never seen such a beautiful person in her entire life. She could see from the large screen focused on him how passionately he was singing. His sweat gave him a glow in the bright lights that shined over him. And his voice! The deep resonance was almost reassuring; his voice was so powerful, yet gentle.
Tohru managed to rip her gaze off of him and observe the various other people on stage with him. Her jaw dropped a second time. They were all beautiful. She first focused on the keyboard player, who resembled the lead singer greatly. Perhaps, they were brothers? The fluidity with which he played his keyboard made Tohru's heart flutter. She felt the intensity of his fingers working the black and white keys; such simple movements delivered complex feelings embodied in the song. Tohru's heart melted once he flashed a shy smile whilst looking down at his instrument.
Next, she watched the young drummer. His head bobbed to the rhythm and anyone could tell that he was fully immersed in the song, enjoying every second of it. His bleached hair bounced with each smash of the drums. His sly grin had Tohru feeling all tingly; she was definitely captured by his charisma.
Tohru, still watching the bad-boy drummer, noticed that he had stopped playing. It became quieter in the concert area, as the other members of the band had stopped playing as well. Suddenly, a loud and electrifying sound resonated throughout the city. It was blaringly loud and drowned out the screams of the crowd yelling "Shigure-kun! We love you!"
A man shredded away on his pearl white electric guitar, dramatically throwing himself on the floor as he played. He whipped his head back and forth, his jet-black locks following, as he skillfully manipulated the strings. How confident and bold. Then, she heard a deeper melody playing against the guitarist's solo.
An orange-haired man, with a stern look on his face, effortlessly plucked the strings of his navy blue bass. And by effortless, it means that it seemed like he did not care at all about the performance and was there by force. He didn't seem like he enjoyed the stage, but fan girls were still pretty crazy over him and Tohru could see why. His bored expression was different from the other band members and gave him a different vibe.
Tohru stayed until the end of the concert. It was a whole new experience for her; the combination of five extremely good-looking men who were making music was definitely enjoyable. She didn't regret missing that job interview at all. She did need the job, but she reasoned that sometimes it's better to experience something new to gain a new outlook on life, or something along those lines.
Tohru's blood was rushing through her veins, the excitement from the concert still present. She aimlessly walked around the city, replaying the concert over and over again in her head. What was the band's name again? Oh, right! Zodiax!
The brunette, lost in her imagination, snapped back to reality when she felt a strong hand grab her wrist. She instinctively screamed and swung her hand back with such force that it hit the offender in the face. She heard a quiet moan, then a grunt.
"Ouch..."
Under the bright streetlight, Tohru could make out the face of the "harasser". His hand covered his left eye in pain and his hair covered his right eye. Upon the removal of his hand, a charming yet cold face emerged. How handsome...
Tohru shook her head at her ridiculous thoughts. This guy had harassed her! He needed to be taught a lesson.
"Excuse me, you sexual harasser! Y-you can't j-just grab people like that! I punched you because you deserved it! Now, don't do creepy things anymore!" she lectured, her voice not as confident as her words.
The brunette whirled around and started speed walking in the opposite direction, fearing the man behind her.
As she raced her way across the dim streets, she heard slow footsteps getting louder and louder. Was it the creepy guy back there? Maybe I made him angry... I should've run!
Tohru started to speed up. Someone grabbed her arm, making her legs fling forward from the momentum.
"LET GO OF ME! HELP, SOMEONE HE-"
The large hand covered her mouth, muffling her cries.
"You're quite naive to lecture an alleged 'sexual harasser' and walk away... I like that. You may be just what I'm looking for," said the voice monotonously.
Chills ran down the brunette's spine. What is he going to do to me...?
The man uncovered her lips and presented a business card to her.
"My name is Sohma Hatori. I am the CEO of SOHMA Records, and I want you to work for my company."
Tohru was dumbfounded. "W-what?"
Even in the dim lighting Tohru could tell that the man was scanning her up and down.
"You're nothing special," he said bluntly. "However, your selling point is your innocence. You can make it big with the right company. You ever heard of the band Zodiax?"
Tohru's eyes lit up. "Yeah! I just watched their concert today."
"Well, they're part of my company. And judging by your voice, you seem to be a fan... If you're interested in meeting them and becoming as big as them, just follow the address on the business card. I'll see you."
"Wait!" called the brunette. "How do I know I can... trust you?"
The tall man chuckled. "Just search my name on the Internet and you'll see. Plus, you don't seem to have many problems with trust—keep that naive image rolling and I guarantee you'll see progress."
Is this my chance at a job? "Wait, again! Why did you grab my arm back there?"
"Ah, I confused you for someone else. You don't happen to know the celebrity Kagura, do you?"
"You mean THE Kagura? She's the biggest female artist in Japan!"
"Well, she's a part of my company as well and you resembled her from the back. I guess she ran off to see Kyo backstage again. Oh, and can I get your name?"
Tohru's heart fluttered at the prospect of having a job. "Tohru! Honda Tohru." Wow, first I get to miss a job interview, watch an amazing concert, and get offered a job at being a celebrity?! How much better could this day get?
"Then I'll see you soon, Tohru." Something in his voice made him sound dangerous, as if it were a threat. However, the brunette was much too excited to trust her instinct.
If only she had known what this encounter would bring about.
A few days had passed since the encounter with the CEO of Sohma Records. Tohru paced her apartment floor, business card in hand.
"To call or not to call," she muttered to herself, waving the card back and forth.
She weighed both options in her mind. If she called, her life would change forever, and she wouldn't be able to live her normal life anymore. She enjoyed her simple life; her mother had always taught her to appreciate the small things. But, this chance to live a new life was extremely tempting. On the other hand, not calling would keep her same old life, which consisted of looking for jobs anywhere she could find them. But it was the life she had led for 24 years, the only one she knew. Leaving it suddenly would be a shock, would it not?
"Ugh," groaned the conflicted brunette. She stopped pacing and stared at the card. Before she could change her mind, she sprinted to her phone and dialed the number on the card.
"Thank you for calling SOHMA Records," said the automated message. "If you'd like to speak with CEO Sohma Hatori, press 1. If you'd like to spea—"
The rice ball pushed the 1 button on her phone. Loud rock music filled the room as the call was being redirected.
Is this one of Zodiax's songs?
The rice ball waited... and waited... and waited... and waited... and waited. An hour of the same song looping over and over was driving the pitiful brunette crazy. Her finger hovered over the 'call end' button. As she moved to press it, the song stopped.
"Hello? Sohma Hatori speaking."
The brunette froze dead in her tracks. Oh my goodness, he actually picked up... WHAT DO I SAY?
"Uh, hello?" repeated the voice.
"H-Hi," she stuttered, clutching the phone tightly with both hands.
"Who are you and reason for calling?"
"I'm Honda Tohru. You gave me a business card."
"Eh? Honda who?"
Tohru burned with embarrassment. "The-the one who called you a... sexual harasser."
She heard a loud laugh over the phone. "Oh my, how could I forget such an interesting person? Excuse me for my rudeness. So, Tohru, have you been considering my offer?"
Tohru nodded.
"Yes? No?"
Oops! He can't hear my nods. "Yes!"
"I'm liking your enthusiasm. Meet me tomorrow at 3 in the afternoon at my main office. The address should be on the card. I'll put in your appointment personally."
"Thank you so much, Sohma-san!"
"No, Tohru, thank you," he replied. Something felt a bit off in his tone of voice. Tohru, completely oblivious, hung up the phone and cheered.
"I'm going to be employed! By none other than the CEO of Sohma Records!" yelled Tohru, jumping up and down her couch.
There were four knocks through the wall. "Quiet down over there!" ordered the voice through the wall.
The rice ball covered her mouth sheepishly and plopped herself down on her sofa. Her smile wouldn't go away for hours.
The next day, the brunette awkwardly stood around the lobby of the infamous SOHMA Records building. People were hustling around everywhere, and she seemed to always be in the way of people. She finally situated herself in the corner of the room. She checked her watch.
2:59. It'll be my turn soon.
At 3 on the dot, the head desk person called her name.
"Honda Tohru, meeting with the CEO at 3!"
Tohru bounded over to the desk, nearly crashing into four other people.
"Sorry!" She bowed to them as she made her way to the desk. "Hi, I'm Honda Tohru."
The desk person looked uninterested in who Tohru was and nonchalantly pointed down to the elevator.
"16th floor. Double doors all the way down the hall."
Tohru bowed. "Thank you!"
The brunette ran to the closing elevator doors, pushing her hand through the gap to keep it from closing. The people inside complained and whined. Tohru bowed her head apologetically and squeezed herself into the full elevator.
After a long and uncomfortable elevator ride, Tohru arrived at the top floor of the building. She walked down the hallway as instructed and reached the double doors. She tentatively knocked.
"Enter."
Tohru peeked her head through the door. When she saw the familiar man at the desk, she walked into the room and bowed.
"Hi, Sohma-san." Wow, he's even more handsome in the light.
The CEO had a serious look on his face. His hair covered one eye, but the other was uncovered and gazed at the rice ball intensely.
He gave the rice ball a slight twitch of the mouth, an attempted smile.
"You're cuter than you were when I last saw you," said the CEO. He had no hint of flirting or joking. He was very matter-of-fact.
Tohru blushed. "Th-thank you very m-much."
He took out a thick pile of papers from his drawer.
"I'm getting straight to the point. Here's the contract for your career in our company. I'm giving you 24 hours to read it and get it back to me, which I think is very fair. Any questions?"
The rice ball was too taken aback to utter a single word. That huge stack? In just 24 hours?
"If you don't have any questions, I'll move onto the next person. Thank you for your time."
Tohru numbly nodded, grabbing the contract. She heaved and lifted the stack of papers with a lot of effort. This is a lot heavier than expected.
She went back down to the lobby, clutching the contract to her chest. It was more crowded than before.
The brunette deftly avoided the running people. She was so close to the door. She reached out her hand to grab the handle, but failed when a man knocked her over. Her papers scattered all over the floor.
"I'm really sorry, Miss, are you alright?" asked the concerned man, kneeling down to help the rice ball pick up papers.
Tohru looked over to give him a smile, but her face wouldn't comply. She only stared in shock.
Before her was a grey-haired man, his locks framing his face. His eyes were large and a beautiful stone color. His skin was pale and smooth like porcelain. Tohru had to blink a few times to make sure that the male voice came from the person before her. He could really pass as a girl because he's so beautiful.
"Miss, are you okay? Can you speak?"
"Y-Yes, I can. Thank you for helping me."
The man smiled, and Tohru caught her breath. He looked down at the papers in his hand, and the smile on his face disappeared.
"This is a contract with this company, correct?"
"Yes."
The man handed the rest of the papers to the rice ball. He placed both of his hands on the side of the Tohru's arms, and bent down to meet her eyes.
"No matter what you do, do not sign that contract. You'll just be getting yourself in a lot of trouble."
"T-Thank you f-for the advice," stuttered the blushing brunette.
"Sohma Yuki! Appointment at 3:20."
The man nodded. "That's my cue to leave. Goodbye and good luck." He swiftly turned and walked straight ahead. The people seemed to split at his path so that he didn't have to avoid anyone.
Is he related to Sohma-san? Why would he give me that kind of warning?
With his warning etched into her mind, Tohru walked home.
At home, the rice ball sat on the floor, her contract papers laid out in front of her.
I guess I should start reading.
She started to read the first page. She yawned halfway down. She continued with a few more pages, but eventually fell asleep.
The next morning, she woke up with page seven of the contract in her hands.
"Oops, I guess I didn't finish," mumbled Tohru, rubbing her eyes and stretching. "How much more do I have left?"
She flipped through the contract. "88 more pages!"
"Well, I already read seven pages and they don't have any funny business, so I guess the rest will be okay, too." The man's warning replayed in her head again.
He said I'd get myself in trouble... but what kind? I guess I'll never know if I don't try. This opportunity is too good to pass up.
The brunette grabbed a black pen and neatly signed her name on the last page of the contract. I'll bring this over to Sohma-san later.
"You actually signed it?" asked Hatori in disbelief. I didn't think she'd be that naive.
Tohru smiled and nodded. "Please take good care of me."
The CEO rubbed his chin. "Oh, I will. I think I'm going to give you your first task as one of my employees today."
Tohru waited eagerly.
"Go to the broadcast building in the inner city, the one called Star Broadcast. Go to room 134 and tell the people inside that I sent you. Make sure to tell them that you're the new doll of the company, exactly as I just said it."
"Yes, CEO!"
Hatori handed her the VIP Access card.
"Hurry, now. You don't have much time before those people go on broadcast."
Tohru bowed. "Thank you!" She left the room, excited for the start of a new path.
The rice ball scrambled around the inner city, looking for the Star Broadcast building. She found it within seconds, considering the giant star twirling above the building. She entered, with her card in hand. She approached the security guards blocking the hallway.
"Excuse me, sir, where is room 134?"
The guards exchanged looks with each other.
"Student, I think you should go back and stop wasting your time. No matter what you do, you won't get to meet those boys, so just go back home. I've already had hundreds of other girls ask me the same question."
The brunette fumbled with the card. "I'm not a s-student! I have a VIP Access card. I'm with SOHMA Records."
"Damn, fans can even replicate the cards! Listen, kid, go home. You can't get that card unless you're real famous."
"CEO Sohma Hatori gave it to me! Please let me through. I have a task to fulfill."
The guard snatched the card and inspected it. "Huh, it's genuine. Fine, I guess you can go through. But any weird shenanigans and you're outta here."
"Thank you." The guards made way for Tohru to get through. She went down the hall, searching for room 134.
"Ah, here it is." She knocked on the door.
"Come in." The brunette let herself into the room.
Her jaw dropped as she took in the scene before her. "Zo-Zo—"
"Who let a fan in this place? Ugh, I thought this station was better guarded," said a muscular orange-haired man, crossing his arms and looking away.
"Now, now, Kyo. Accidents could happen. Miss, would you like our autographs?" inquired a man with jet-black hair, a flirtatious smile on his face.
Tohru stood at the door, as still as a statue.
"Wait, I saw her the other day," said the androgynous, grey-haired man. Tohru recognized him as Sohma Yuki whom she met at the company building. "So you did end up signing the contract... Would you tell us your name."
"You g-guys are Z-Zodiax..."
Yuki smiled. "Not our name. Yours."
"Tohru. H-Honda Tohru."
A man with long silver hair approached her and lifted her chin with his hand. His face was inches away from hers.
"And what brings you here, my lovely lady?" he asked, stroking her hair.
"Quit scaring her, Ayame," said the boy with bleached hair that faded to black. "She looks scared to death."
Ayame pouted. "You're no fun, Haru!" He turned his attention back to Tohru, waiting for her answer.
"CEO Sohma Hatori sent me here," she managed to say, despite the gorgeous man caressing her face and hair. "I'm the... new doll... of the company."
Ayame stepped back and exchanged glances with his fellow members.
"No, way... Hatori actually did it!" exclaimed man with jet-black hair. He had a smirk on his face. "This'll be fun."
"Shut up, Shigure," said Kyo. "That sneak Hatori..."
Tohru looked at the men in confusion. "What did Sohma-san do...?"
The man called Shigure approached her with an attractive gaze. He placed his hands on her waist and leaned in close to her face.
"Wh-What are you doing?!" The rice ball pushed away the man, hugging herself tightly.
"Shigure, don't scare the girl. We can't have our own little doll scared of us," said Ayame, flipping his long hair.
Their doll? Why am I their doll?
"Since Hatori fulfilled his promise, I guess we can renew our contracts," said Haru, rolling his eyes.
Kyo groaned. "I didn't even want this."
"Promise what?" asked Tohru.
Shigure smiled. "He promised us our own toy to do whatever we please with. Did he not tell you?"
He said I'd be a star... Have I been tricked?
Shigure grabbed the rice ball's hand. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm gonna use our toy first."
Ayame shook his head and waved his finger disapprovingly. "We only have a few minutes 'til broadcast. Plus, isn't it only fair that the leader gets to use the doll first?"
Shigure crossed his arms like a child. "Aya~ C'mon, don't be like that!"
After what appeared to be a moment of thinking, Shigure's face lit up.
"I know! Why don't we let our doll decide who gets to play with her first?" asked Shigure, patting his own back at his genius.
Tohru stared wide-eyed at the men.
"What do you mean by... play?" asked Tohru, backing up into the wall.
Shigure chuckled, getting closer.
"Oh, I'll show you," he breathed into her neck.