Hello! Okay, okay...so, I am SO sorry about the last chapter, I know you
all wanted to kill me, but I HAD to give Tohma an evil moment like that. I
warned you though. Hehehe, anyhoo, Chapter 13 is upon us and I decided that
I would turn things around for this chapter. I'm at animation class and I'm
happy so that means Sakano will be happy. Hehe, so read and review. Oh, and
Neko Chica, I am totally excited to see your Sakano in a Speedo and combat
boots piccie (hehe, and you all thought that I didn't read the reviews).
Chapter Thirteen: Monday Mornings
The drive to work was a tough one. He hurt so badly that even pressing the gas petal made his whole body ache with pain. He only had a few moments to go home, shower, change and eat something before he had to rush to work. He was going to be on time, though; that was all that mattered. He didn't even need to speed. No, he did that at home, forgetting to take Aspirin. Now he would be in pain all day long and probably deep into the night. Ah well, it was a minor roadblock. He had more important things to worry about. Like how he was going to get Bad Luck back on track and how he was going to score them a spot in the Tokyo Bay Music Festival. That was a big, fat lie. All he was worrying about was seeing Mr. K after so long and how he was going to react.
Sakano pulled into the employee parking lot, early as normal. The lot was still mostly empty, a few cars here and there. He parked in the spot reserved for him and it was the first time he really noticed how important he was. Hey, anyone with their own parking spot had to be important. He locked his fancy car and tossed his keys in his briefcase. He was early, as usual.
Walking into NG Studios was uncomfortable and foreign to him. He had only been gone a short while, but the studios seemed so...different. It wasn't though. In fact, nothing had changed at all. Not even the plant in the corner of the lobby had changed. He received surprised looks as he walked through the lobby into the rehearsal rooms; no one had expected him to return. He was forced to ignore the whispers coming from secretaries and other members of the NG staff. He was quite a rumor. Sakano never really thought about it that much. Of course they would talk? Who wouldn't want to spread the rumor about a love triangle between three respected names in the music industry?
He felt at ease when he made it into the rehearsal rooms. He spent years of his life in those rooms. He remembered back to the days when he was the manager of Nittle Grasper. Things were surprisingly simpler back then. Nittle Grasper basically sold themselves. Sakano made sure they didn't do anything stupid. Unfortunately, Sakuma decided to go his separate way and Noriko decided to get married and Tohma decided that he wanted to do exactly what Sakano was doing. Luckily for Sakano, Tohma liked him enough to bring him along for the ride after the Nittle Grasper split. Otherwise, he would be out on the street.
The room was dark and cold. It was his job to set up all of the equipment. Not really, but if he didn't do it, it would never get done. He turned on the lights and started to run the heater. His face was throbbing and the cold didn't help. He began to plug in all of the equipment, trying to get himself back into the routine he used to have down pat. His body was screaming at him to let it rest for a few minutes but if he didn't fight the pain, he would never be able to survive what his life had become. The situation with Seguchi wasn't going to be resolved any time soon, so he might as well get used to it. Eventually the brutality that his Seguchi- sama inflicted upon him the night before would become another part of his routine. The pain would cease and maybe, just maybe, he would be able to find a little pleasure.
"KO-NI-CHI-WA!!!" Shuichi limped through the door, followed close in tow by Hiro and Sugaru. Sakano's eyes widened and he began to freak out.
"SHINDOU-KUN!! YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE TODAY!! I AM GOING TO GET IN SO MUCH TROUBLE WITH THE HOSPITAL FOR THIS, YOU NEED TO GO BACK AND-"
Shuichi stumbled over to Sakano and threw his arms around him, making Sakano leap with surprise. The young boy looked up at his producer and smiled, "Welcome back, Sakano. I don't know what you did to make Tohma change his mind about us, but it worked and we are so thankful. You have no idea what it means to us. Thank you. I had to come and say it because I would feel bad if I didn't."
He didn't even begin to comprehend the price that Sakano paid. Sakano had sold his body and soul to the devil so that Shuichi, Hiro and Fujisaki could experience the rush that he experienced seven years prior. He had already lived his dream; he could take the pain so others could experience theirs.
"Sakano," Hiro said, smiling a dashing smile, "How have you been? Are you doing okay?"
He WAS doing okay. In fact, he was doing better then okay. So far, nothing had made him feel uncomfortable or embarrassed or-
"What happened to your face?" Fujisaki said, leaning in to get a closer look, "Wow...someone gave you a pretty nice shiner, didn't they?"
Sakano had forgotten all about his eye and cheek. How was he supposed to explain it? He wasn't really the type who got into fights or physical altercations, so he couldn't use that excuse. He really had no excuse but the truth that he had a VERY rough night in the claws of Tohma. He was going to answer, but Shuichi opened his mouth, saving Sakano from the awkward question.
"Hey, it's getting late. Are we going to start?"
"We will start when Mr. K gets here," Sakano said, trying to be as aloof as possible about the whole situation. Where was K anyway? He normally was on time, if not a few minutes late. It was starting to get very late and Sakano was getting very worried. He learned in busy conversation with the boys that K had been pretty distraught when he left the hospital that night and that nobody had seen him since. Sakano wasn't too worried until the sickening realization struck him like a ton of bricks. K was depressed and alone in his apartment...and he had plenty of weapons that could ease the pain.
"Someone call him." Sakano said, calm at first, but when no one moved, he began to panic, "SOMEONE CALL HIM!"
"Sakano, calm down, I'm sure that he just-" Sakano turned and glared at Fujisaki. He didn't want to hear the boy's voice right then. He was ill. K might have hurt himself. He might have even gone as far as to kill himself. Sakano NEEDED to call him. No matter how badly K hurt him, he still needed to call him.
He picked up the phone and right that very second, the door flew off it's hinges and there stood K, sunglasses on and gun pointed directly at Sakano's forehead. No, he hadn't killed himself. He was going to kill EVERYONE else instead. That was SO K. Sakano froze in place, his glasses crooked and his body sore. He held his breath waiting for K to pull the trigger, but he never did. Instead, he pointed the gun at Shuichi and grinned.
"Back to the hospital," he said, making Shuichi wilt with sadness and fear, "I've called you cab, so get moving!"
"Aren't you going to help me out?" Shuichi said, his eyes turning big and watery.
"You got yourself in here, you can get yourself out," K said, putting his magnum away, "Besides, I am your manager, not your boyfriend. If you want someone to carry you out, then call Yuki. MEANWHILE!" he pointed the gun at the three men in the room, all four freezing in their tracks, "LET'S BEGIN!!"
He put his gun away and grinned, turning around to get some coffee. He was whistling Blind Games and tapping his foot. Sakano was mildly confused. Why was K acting so...normal? Then again, why was he himself acting so normal? It felt like their whole relationship was all a dream and now, here comes Monday morning and that dream was beginning to fade.
Hiro and Sugaru stood behind their respective instruments and Sakano took his seat in his chair to watch them rehearse. Mr. K glanced out the door and that's when he saw Shuichi trying to weasel his way back in. He began to get horrifically angry and he slid the gun from his holster and Shuichi put his hands up.
"MR. K!!" he said, holding up the white flag, "I just came to watch! And maybe sing a little! COME ON!! If I promise not to dance?!?! Please, please, please, please, please, plea-"
"ALRIGHT!!!" K screamed, shoving his gun back into his holster and rubbing his temples, "But be prepared to work very hard today. We have been in Limbo for the past few weeks and we need to get serious. The Tokyo Bay Music Fes is coming and you all NEED to be there. Nittle Grasper is already on the show list. We need to get you there."
All of Bad Luck nodded. Sakano smiled. At least something good would come out of his relationship with Tohma. Bad Luck most definitely would be on the show list. All he had to do was ask. Hiro and Fujisaki helped put Shuichi behind his microphone. They all expected to have a few minutes to chat and warm up and all of that good stuff, but none of that happened when K set his coffee down and gestured to them to begin.
He stood watching them, trying to pull themselves together in the shortest amount of time, "YOU NEED TO BE READY AT THE DROP OF A HAT!!"
They continued on as K continued to spit different criticisms at the boys. Sakano was going to say something but he decided against it. After a minute, the boys were singing the song better then they had ever sung it before. Sakano turned to look at K for a moment. He was smiling, eyes closed and feeling the music. His arms were crossed and he seemed surprisingly sure of himself. Still, he hadn't said one word to Sakano and-
"Good Morning, Sakano-san," he said, looking down at him for a second before looking back at the band.
"G-g-g-good morning, Mr. K," Sakano said, smiling at him. It wasn't a fake smile. He was truly happy to see him. It felt as though they were a couple again. No, that feeling hit Sakano's gut again. They weren't a couple. In fact, they couldn't even be seen together without Sakano getting himself in some serious trouble. He turned back to the band and watched Shuichi. He was an amazing kid. He was standing there, singing with all of his heart. It almost made what Sakano gave up worth it.
His phone began to ring and he stood up and walked out into the hallway to answer it. "Moshi Moshi."
"Konnichiwa, Sakano-kun," Tohma said, his voice quiet and reserved like always. He didn't even sound spiteful on the phone. He sounded...normal, "How are you this morning? Are you feeling alright?"
No. "Hai, Seguchi-sama."
"Very good. I need you to bring me all of your paperwork for the Tokyo Bay Music Festival that you filled out before you left. I have been on the phone all day with their people and they want to see what Bad Luck has in the form of vocals and they want to see it tomorrow. So, if you can bring it to me along with Bad Luck tomorrow morning, I would be so grateful."
"Hai, Seguchi-sama."
"Okay, I can tell you are busy. I will see you tomorrow then."
Sakano sighed with relief at the sound of the click of Seguchi's receiver being put down. He didn't want to see him that night. He wanted to have a nice night of rest before the busy day ahead of him. He was going to have to meet with all of the executives and such from the festival and get Bad Luck there in one piece, with Shuichi all hurt.
"AHEM!" Sakano said, the music stopping and all, including Mr. K, looking over at him, "Tomorrow the three of you will audition for a spot in the Tokyo Bay Music Festival. I just got off the phone with Seguchi-sama and he said that they are very interested in you all. So, I am going to go and find the paperwork and you all are going to continue to rehearse with Mr. K."
All three of the boys looked at Sakano with stars in their eyes. They wanted to go so badly, but lost all hope after they missed the auditions due to the goings on. They began to cheer and hoot and Sakano simply smiled and walked out of the room. He needed to find those files.
DAMN IT!! I totally was going to give Sakano a wonderfully happy time in this chapter, but it ran too long, so I am going to post TWO chapters at the same time. I HATE that, but I kind of wanna keep the chapters the same length and whereas most of the chapters are three to five pages long, this one was going to be about 10-12 pages long. So read and review and I SWEAR within a few minutes, I will have Chapter Fourteen up.
Chapter Thirteen: Monday Mornings
The drive to work was a tough one. He hurt so badly that even pressing the gas petal made his whole body ache with pain. He only had a few moments to go home, shower, change and eat something before he had to rush to work. He was going to be on time, though; that was all that mattered. He didn't even need to speed. No, he did that at home, forgetting to take Aspirin. Now he would be in pain all day long and probably deep into the night. Ah well, it was a minor roadblock. He had more important things to worry about. Like how he was going to get Bad Luck back on track and how he was going to score them a spot in the Tokyo Bay Music Festival. That was a big, fat lie. All he was worrying about was seeing Mr. K after so long and how he was going to react.
Sakano pulled into the employee parking lot, early as normal. The lot was still mostly empty, a few cars here and there. He parked in the spot reserved for him and it was the first time he really noticed how important he was. Hey, anyone with their own parking spot had to be important. He locked his fancy car and tossed his keys in his briefcase. He was early, as usual.
Walking into NG Studios was uncomfortable and foreign to him. He had only been gone a short while, but the studios seemed so...different. It wasn't though. In fact, nothing had changed at all. Not even the plant in the corner of the lobby had changed. He received surprised looks as he walked through the lobby into the rehearsal rooms; no one had expected him to return. He was forced to ignore the whispers coming from secretaries and other members of the NG staff. He was quite a rumor. Sakano never really thought about it that much. Of course they would talk? Who wouldn't want to spread the rumor about a love triangle between three respected names in the music industry?
He felt at ease when he made it into the rehearsal rooms. He spent years of his life in those rooms. He remembered back to the days when he was the manager of Nittle Grasper. Things were surprisingly simpler back then. Nittle Grasper basically sold themselves. Sakano made sure they didn't do anything stupid. Unfortunately, Sakuma decided to go his separate way and Noriko decided to get married and Tohma decided that he wanted to do exactly what Sakano was doing. Luckily for Sakano, Tohma liked him enough to bring him along for the ride after the Nittle Grasper split. Otherwise, he would be out on the street.
The room was dark and cold. It was his job to set up all of the equipment. Not really, but if he didn't do it, it would never get done. He turned on the lights and started to run the heater. His face was throbbing and the cold didn't help. He began to plug in all of the equipment, trying to get himself back into the routine he used to have down pat. His body was screaming at him to let it rest for a few minutes but if he didn't fight the pain, he would never be able to survive what his life had become. The situation with Seguchi wasn't going to be resolved any time soon, so he might as well get used to it. Eventually the brutality that his Seguchi- sama inflicted upon him the night before would become another part of his routine. The pain would cease and maybe, just maybe, he would be able to find a little pleasure.
"KO-NI-CHI-WA!!!" Shuichi limped through the door, followed close in tow by Hiro and Sugaru. Sakano's eyes widened and he began to freak out.
"SHINDOU-KUN!! YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE TODAY!! I AM GOING TO GET IN SO MUCH TROUBLE WITH THE HOSPITAL FOR THIS, YOU NEED TO GO BACK AND-"
Shuichi stumbled over to Sakano and threw his arms around him, making Sakano leap with surprise. The young boy looked up at his producer and smiled, "Welcome back, Sakano. I don't know what you did to make Tohma change his mind about us, but it worked and we are so thankful. You have no idea what it means to us. Thank you. I had to come and say it because I would feel bad if I didn't."
He didn't even begin to comprehend the price that Sakano paid. Sakano had sold his body and soul to the devil so that Shuichi, Hiro and Fujisaki could experience the rush that he experienced seven years prior. He had already lived his dream; he could take the pain so others could experience theirs.
"Sakano," Hiro said, smiling a dashing smile, "How have you been? Are you doing okay?"
He WAS doing okay. In fact, he was doing better then okay. So far, nothing had made him feel uncomfortable or embarrassed or-
"What happened to your face?" Fujisaki said, leaning in to get a closer look, "Wow...someone gave you a pretty nice shiner, didn't they?"
Sakano had forgotten all about his eye and cheek. How was he supposed to explain it? He wasn't really the type who got into fights or physical altercations, so he couldn't use that excuse. He really had no excuse but the truth that he had a VERY rough night in the claws of Tohma. He was going to answer, but Shuichi opened his mouth, saving Sakano from the awkward question.
"Hey, it's getting late. Are we going to start?"
"We will start when Mr. K gets here," Sakano said, trying to be as aloof as possible about the whole situation. Where was K anyway? He normally was on time, if not a few minutes late. It was starting to get very late and Sakano was getting very worried. He learned in busy conversation with the boys that K had been pretty distraught when he left the hospital that night and that nobody had seen him since. Sakano wasn't too worried until the sickening realization struck him like a ton of bricks. K was depressed and alone in his apartment...and he had plenty of weapons that could ease the pain.
"Someone call him." Sakano said, calm at first, but when no one moved, he began to panic, "SOMEONE CALL HIM!"
"Sakano, calm down, I'm sure that he just-" Sakano turned and glared at Fujisaki. He didn't want to hear the boy's voice right then. He was ill. K might have hurt himself. He might have even gone as far as to kill himself. Sakano NEEDED to call him. No matter how badly K hurt him, he still needed to call him.
He picked up the phone and right that very second, the door flew off it's hinges and there stood K, sunglasses on and gun pointed directly at Sakano's forehead. No, he hadn't killed himself. He was going to kill EVERYONE else instead. That was SO K. Sakano froze in place, his glasses crooked and his body sore. He held his breath waiting for K to pull the trigger, but he never did. Instead, he pointed the gun at Shuichi and grinned.
"Back to the hospital," he said, making Shuichi wilt with sadness and fear, "I've called you cab, so get moving!"
"Aren't you going to help me out?" Shuichi said, his eyes turning big and watery.
"You got yourself in here, you can get yourself out," K said, putting his magnum away, "Besides, I am your manager, not your boyfriend. If you want someone to carry you out, then call Yuki. MEANWHILE!" he pointed the gun at the three men in the room, all four freezing in their tracks, "LET'S BEGIN!!"
He put his gun away and grinned, turning around to get some coffee. He was whistling Blind Games and tapping his foot. Sakano was mildly confused. Why was K acting so...normal? Then again, why was he himself acting so normal? It felt like their whole relationship was all a dream and now, here comes Monday morning and that dream was beginning to fade.
Hiro and Sugaru stood behind their respective instruments and Sakano took his seat in his chair to watch them rehearse. Mr. K glanced out the door and that's when he saw Shuichi trying to weasel his way back in. He began to get horrifically angry and he slid the gun from his holster and Shuichi put his hands up.
"MR. K!!" he said, holding up the white flag, "I just came to watch! And maybe sing a little! COME ON!! If I promise not to dance?!?! Please, please, please, please, please, plea-"
"ALRIGHT!!!" K screamed, shoving his gun back into his holster and rubbing his temples, "But be prepared to work very hard today. We have been in Limbo for the past few weeks and we need to get serious. The Tokyo Bay Music Fes is coming and you all NEED to be there. Nittle Grasper is already on the show list. We need to get you there."
All of Bad Luck nodded. Sakano smiled. At least something good would come out of his relationship with Tohma. Bad Luck most definitely would be on the show list. All he had to do was ask. Hiro and Fujisaki helped put Shuichi behind his microphone. They all expected to have a few minutes to chat and warm up and all of that good stuff, but none of that happened when K set his coffee down and gestured to them to begin.
He stood watching them, trying to pull themselves together in the shortest amount of time, "YOU NEED TO BE READY AT THE DROP OF A HAT!!"
They continued on as K continued to spit different criticisms at the boys. Sakano was going to say something but he decided against it. After a minute, the boys were singing the song better then they had ever sung it before. Sakano turned to look at K for a moment. He was smiling, eyes closed and feeling the music. His arms were crossed and he seemed surprisingly sure of himself. Still, he hadn't said one word to Sakano and-
"Good Morning, Sakano-san," he said, looking down at him for a second before looking back at the band.
"G-g-g-good morning, Mr. K," Sakano said, smiling at him. It wasn't a fake smile. He was truly happy to see him. It felt as though they were a couple again. No, that feeling hit Sakano's gut again. They weren't a couple. In fact, they couldn't even be seen together without Sakano getting himself in some serious trouble. He turned back to the band and watched Shuichi. He was an amazing kid. He was standing there, singing with all of his heart. It almost made what Sakano gave up worth it.
His phone began to ring and he stood up and walked out into the hallway to answer it. "Moshi Moshi."
"Konnichiwa, Sakano-kun," Tohma said, his voice quiet and reserved like always. He didn't even sound spiteful on the phone. He sounded...normal, "How are you this morning? Are you feeling alright?"
No. "Hai, Seguchi-sama."
"Very good. I need you to bring me all of your paperwork for the Tokyo Bay Music Festival that you filled out before you left. I have been on the phone all day with their people and they want to see what Bad Luck has in the form of vocals and they want to see it tomorrow. So, if you can bring it to me along with Bad Luck tomorrow morning, I would be so grateful."
"Hai, Seguchi-sama."
"Okay, I can tell you are busy. I will see you tomorrow then."
Sakano sighed with relief at the sound of the click of Seguchi's receiver being put down. He didn't want to see him that night. He wanted to have a nice night of rest before the busy day ahead of him. He was going to have to meet with all of the executives and such from the festival and get Bad Luck there in one piece, with Shuichi all hurt.
"AHEM!" Sakano said, the music stopping and all, including Mr. K, looking over at him, "Tomorrow the three of you will audition for a spot in the Tokyo Bay Music Festival. I just got off the phone with Seguchi-sama and he said that they are very interested in you all. So, I am going to go and find the paperwork and you all are going to continue to rehearse with Mr. K."
All three of the boys looked at Sakano with stars in their eyes. They wanted to go so badly, but lost all hope after they missed the auditions due to the goings on. They began to cheer and hoot and Sakano simply smiled and walked out of the room. He needed to find those files.
DAMN IT!! I totally was going to give Sakano a wonderfully happy time in this chapter, but it ran too long, so I am going to post TWO chapters at the same time. I HATE that, but I kind of wanna keep the chapters the same length and whereas most of the chapters are three to five pages long, this one was going to be about 10-12 pages long. So read and review and I SWEAR within a few minutes, I will have Chapter Fourteen up.