Chapter 20

"Have you ever heard them scream this loud?" asked Tsukumo.

"No, but we never had a three hours concert before. And we never had a member leave after that concert." Sairi reminded the other young man.

"And never introduced a new member on said concert," added Touko and smiled at the obviously nervous young man who still seemed a bit lost. "Don't worry, Yuki-chan, they'll love you!"

It would be his first time playing on such a big stage but he loved the music as much as his fellow band members. And it would only be for two or three songs today. This concert would be a huge farewell party for Shuusei. He would get his own real welcome party next time.

"Are you sure? They love Shuusei-kun so much!"

"I am sure. They'll see how much you love the music and that's the most important thing." Shuusei put his hand on Yuki's shoulder.

"Okay guys, then let's go out there and rock the night! Let's make tonight a party they'll never forget!" Ria cheered. Of course they were all sad that it would be the last time they'd play with Shuusei but they swore they'd make this their biggest concert until now. And after a final encouraging cheer the five left the backstage area and entered the stage, leaving Yuki and his strange bodyguard behind to wait for his short guest appearance.

Loud screams filled stadium when the five people entered the stage and claimed their instruments. Above the stage was a large banner which said "10 YEARS SHADOW WARRIORS!" It was still a few months early, but who cared about that? They wanted a giant celebration and they wanted to celebrate in their original formation so the real date was kind of negligible, right?

The first one and a half hours were a Best Of from their actual concert programme of course with emphasis on songs heavy with guitar so that Shuusei had much to play.

Then they took a break of half an hour where they found a well-known box with cookies on the table in the boys' dressing room where they all came together because the room was bigger than the girls' room.

"These were delivered here as a snack for you," Yuki told them and before he even ended the sentence Tsukumo had opened the box and taken a cookie.

"Woah, they look good. Do you know what they're called?" he asked Shuusei while he already took a bite from the jam-filled piece of baked dough

"I don't know. He must have made them this morning after I left. I guess you have to ask him later."

"Who made them?" Yuki asked.

"Hotsuma. He sometimes bakes for us when he's bored," Tsukumo explained. Of course Yuki had already met him the night the band had celebrated their new member at the restaurant.

"Oh I see. Is he here as well tonight so we can thank him for the cookies?" Yuki asked. He was not yet accustomed to the band's habits.

"Of course. He would never miss Shuusei's last concert with us. And he's also responsible for the afterglow buffet."

"Ah, I see. That must also have been stressful for him."

"Yes." Shuusei sighed. Hotsuma had been quite noisy lately. "Half the kitchen is full with his post-its so that he would not forget the tiniest detail. I hope until tomorrow everything is clean again."

"But he didn't make it at home, did he?" Sairi asked and Shuusei shook his head.

"He has a restaurant's kitchen he can use to make food for about 200 people or so, so no.

Luka-san you can also take some cookies." He offered Yuki's quiet friend who was always at his side and never took his eyes off him. He needed to ask soon how they were connected. Shuusei only knew that it was Luka's wish to stay at Yuki's side and he seemed to be very important to Yuki.

"Thank you," the tall man nodded and took one of the cookies.

Not much later the break was over and they started the second part of the concert. The real farewell party.

At first they played one of the first songs they had ever written themselves and somehow they were glad about how much they had improved in all those years. Then Sairi took the microphone.

"God, it's been so very long that we first played this song. It was the graduation party of our third years when we were in our second year of high school. And now we are here seeing one of our own members graduate. Shuusei. Thank you so very much for these ten years on stage with you. I know, you will stay with us and we won't lose you, but it will be a change to have another person standing in your spot in the future! It had been a great time although you like to stay in the background. But you are most certainly a part of us and a great person and a fantastic friend. So really thank you!"

Shuusei smiled touched by his friend's words.

"Thank you, Sairi. I'm just glad that I have met you and you just dragged me along with you, urged me to join you with your silly idea to form a school band and after that to go on and make this all our job. Thank you for your support especially the last three years. And I'm glad that I can go on writing your music and still be with you all." Shuusei replied.

And so it continued They played a song or two and then another band member said a few fond words to thank Shuusei for their time together on stage. And of course Shuusei had to perform more than just one song. And when the four had thanked him Shuusei and they had played two other well-known, much celebrated songs Shuusei took the microphone.

"For the next song I will take a break. Not because I need to but because we want to introduce someone to you. He's a very sweet and very kind guy and very skilled with the guitar: A young man who is very nice to be around and who loves music just as much as we all do. He is just the same kind of crazy as we are and that's why we chose him to stand here in my spot in the future. Be kind to him he doesn't have very much experience on big stages but I'm sure he will do a great job. Do you want to meet him?"

The audience cheered. They had of course already announced they had found someone and raised the expectations on their online media.

"Good then give our new guitarist a very warm welcome. Here is Yuki!"

Yuki entered the stage with his own guitar and Shuusei greeted him very warmly before he temporarily left the stage to let Yuki and the others perform a new song.

Shuusei found Luka leaning on a wall near the stage entrance and decided to stand next to him to wait for his cue to return on stage for the last few songs.

The tall man handed him a fresh bottle of water which Shuusei gladly accepted. The spotlights were hot and this concert was really long and exhausting.

"I'm glad that you chose Yuki to take over." Luka suddenly said. He hadn't spoken much until now. He was just a constant background presence. "He had been sad when he heard that you'd leave the band. He had always looked up to you."

"To us?" Shuusei asked. Of course they had known that their newest member had been a fan for a long time.

"No, to you." Luka said. "I don't know why but he has always liked your way of playing. You inspired him to follow his dream with the guitar."

Shuusei looked at the tall man in surprise. "Really?"

Luka nodded. "So thank you for giving him this chance. I haven't seen him this happy in a while."

Shuusei smiled a bit. He was curious but he didn't ask this man more about Yuki. These were things he had to tell them himself. "Thank you. May... I ask what has brought you two together, that you barely leave his side?" Shuusei asked carefully. "You don't have to answer."

Luka just shrugged. "He had saved my life a long time ago. I swore to be at his side as long as he wants me there. But I have the feeling he is in good hands with you all. So you won't have me around all the time."

"We will take good care of him." Shuusei promised. But then the song ended and he had to go back on stage. The audience cheered. They seemed to accept the new person quite easily.

Then they played another two songs which especially Shuusei loved and then he took the microphone again.

"The next song will be my last one." The audience gave a sad noise as a reply. "And I will perform it alone. I've written it as a big thank you during the last months: A thank you to my dear colleagues for their support during the last ten years, a thank you for their support. Without them I would have quit much earlier and not with this much anticipation for the future. It's also a thank you to all of you who have supported us over all these years, without you we would not have been able to stand on stages this large and for now ten long years and hopefully many more to come! And a small thank you to a childhood friend of mine who still supports me endlessly. Thank you very much everyone! I love you!"

He took his guitar and began to play a song full of melancholy and thankfulness. And he felt the tears burning in his eyes and his voice cracking more often than he liked it. It wasn't easy to leave the stage now matter how much he knew it was the right thing to do. But somehow he knew he'd miss this. And he portrayed all these feelings in his song.

And in the end when he put his guitar aside everything was quiet for many long seconds before the first started to applaud and then everyone screamed and applauded and cheered and cried. He saw that Touko and Ria were openly weeping and Sairi and Tsukumo were close. And he hoped he had touched a certain someone in the audience as well. He could hear how his name is called and they asked for an encore. Shuusei smiled and waved. And then he felt how his friends surrounded him and hugged him tightly. And now all of them cried because now it was really over. But he smiled when he noticed Yuki had come back on stage and he went to him and hug him as well. He was a new member and fully accepted in their group.

Then all six of them stepped to the front of the stage and bowed. The cheering grew even louder.

Then they left the stage but the fans didn't want to stop cheering and were still calling for an encore. The six nodded at each other and re-entered the stage together after a few minutes. Their encore would be a song they had quite quickly been rearranged so it could be played by two guitars instead of just one. This song would show the world the strength of their friendship. And the audience loved it!

Of course the afterglow party went until early in the morning. Shuusei felt terribly exhausted but he stayed until the end. He had to answer so many questions about his future plans, many fans wanted to know if he would still play somewhere for them. To that question he just winked and said that they needed to find out themselves. He would play for audiences from time to time. And many, many fans just wanted to thank him and provide him with their best wishes. Of course it drained his energy very much that he had to talk to so many people but it was their tenth anniversary and his last day as an idol so it was okay for him and he tried his best to stay open even if he had to answer the same question for the twelfth time.

But it wasn't only him but also Yuki who had to answer questions under the eyes of Luka who looked out for the young man.

When everyone started to leave and the buffet was empty Shuusei and the band also prepared to get their things and go home.

"Until when does this place have to be clean?" asked Tsukumo when he looked over the room which was of course a chaos of used dishes and glasses and decoration. Their crew had already started to clean up the hall but they had gone to bed by now and left the rest for tomorrow.

"I guess I'll be here at about eight... I need to be at the restaurant for lunch time after all... And I need to drive at least three times... to get everything back" Hotsuma sighed deeply. Not much sleep for him.

"Let us help," Sairi proposed. "We will all be here at nine and then you tell us what you want to have taken back to the restaurant and then you go there and do your job and we take care that you get your stuff back."

"You don't have to do that!" Hotsuma protested. "You..."

"We help our friends, Hotsu-kun! And you did great with this buffet! It was sooo delicious!" Ria grinned and hugged him which threw him completely out of concept. He liked the band, and he knew they didn't despise him as well but this much affection was a bit much so suddenly.

Shuusei grinned when he saw this.

"Well, I guess they've adopted you, now you have to live with their affection." His words were teasing but he was glad his friends didn't have a problem with Hotsuma, because Shuusei didn't plan to let him walk out of his life so soon.

Hotsuma shoved the young woman away as gently as possible.

"Yeah... thanks... I guess."

"Just don't make Shuu-kun unhappy!" Ria demanded with a wide grin.

"Wha..." Hotsuma's face had instantly turned beet red and he didn't even dare looking at Shuusei who just started to laugh. It was hilarious watching his best friend being so flustered.

"Usui-kun?" Of course the good mood was ruined by Kase who asked for his attention. All the visitors of the concert had left by now. Shuusei turned around.

"Well... I know it hasn't always been easy between us. But I know you did your best and... well... I'm sorry. Perhaps I have demanded too much." The man bowed to Shuusei who raised an eyebrow. "I hope you have more joy in your new job when you don't have me around so much anymore."

"Eh... well..." Shuusei was glad that at least now Kase asked for forgiveness. "I..." He didn't know what to say. The damage was done and Shuusei could not brush it away so easily but he didn't want it to become a big deal.

"What the... Are you serious?" Hotsuma had of course watched that scene and was now next to Shuusei and looked furious. "First you harass him to the point he collapses and feels forced to quit the job he loved so very much and then you ask for forgiveness on his very last day like it's no big deal? How stupid are you?"

"Hotsuma!" Shuusei took his friend's arm. He didn't want all this to become a real dispute.

"What? A simple sorry is not enough for what he did to you! If he really regretted anything he would have adapted to you and looked out for you so that you could get the best out of your work and not damage you to the point you struggle even with the things that used to come to you so naturally!" No, Hotsuma could not forgive Kase. And he was no part of the band so he was free to speak his mind. And then he turned again to Kase: "I really hope I won't hear any more complaints about you in the future and you let Shuusei do his work in the surroundings he wants to!"

"Hotsuma! Stop it!" Shuusei demanded sternly. "I don't want my final day to end in a fight. Kase-san, it's okay. I can't say I've already forgiven you but I don't want it to be a shadow on the future. As long as you manage the band, we will have to deal with each other and I want a peaceful co-existence. I hope this is possible."

The manager nodded. "I guess that's all I can expect." He held his hand out to Shuusei who took it after a short hesitation. But after that Shuusei turned around and pulled Hotsuma with him. Everything was said. So Kase wished everyone a good night and left the building to go home.

"Sorry..." Shuusei said when they were alone again, especially to Yuki who of course didn't know how bad it really was between Shuusei and Kase.

"It's okay. I... didn't know it was this bad." Yuki said sadly

"I just hope he doesn't harass you out as well..." Hotsuma growled and felt Shuusei's finger pressing into the flesh of his arm and he kept his mouth shut.

And then Shuusei let go of Hotsuma's arm although he liked the contact. But it was still too early.

"But... it's not fair!" Hotsuma protested. "He..."

"He's an asshole. We know. And I'm not completely done with him as well." Sairi said coolly. "But for today it's enough. You two have your holiday ahead and can be happy now. We can't take a rest because Yuki has to learn our songs!" The tall man slapped Yuki's back in a friendly manner. "So go and take our envy with you!"

"First we have to clean this mess up." Ria stated and yawned widely. "But not today. I'll go home."

The others nodded and left as well. Hotsuma had borrowed Fujita san's van to get all the stuff for the buffet here so he would take Shuusei home. The rest had to call a taxi.

"Nee, Touko-san?" Yuki asked while they were waiting.

"Don't address me so formally!" Touko demanded not for the first time. "What do you want to know, Yuki-chan?"

"Shuusei-kun and Hotsuma-kun are they... together?"

"If they aren't when they return from their cruise I'll force them to. I can't look at them pining after each other any longer!"

Everyone grinned and looked forward to their future as a big family of five musicians, their song writer and their personal chef and cookie deliverer.

So, the only thing missing now is the epilogue. It was quite a callenge. I've never written this much in such a short time.