Gack! It's almost two months! Would it matter if I apologize? . I will anyway. I'm so sorry if this came out really late. I haven't been having much inspiration lately and...*tearful eyes* I'm just really sorry! I can't promise you anything because I'm not even sure if I'll be as quick as before. But two more chapters and it's aaaaa~ll done. Bleh, I suck! 0
Usual disclaimers. Maki Murakami owns Gravitation and all I have is a gray mass called a brain. It is this very same mass that I use to come up with these things ^.^
LESSONS IN LIFE
(Chapter 8 - Sakano)
Many times during my younger days, I told myself that I would be more than happy to die in the presence of Tohma Seguchi. He's my role model in a way. There's so much in him to admire and respect, so much to fear yet so much to look up to. Whenever I stop to think about my life before I ever set my eyes on him, all I come up with is a big, fat blank. I know I'm sounding delirious, but in some point of my life, he became the world, and to die for the world is very much worth it all.
Well, of course, I was so young then. But still, this was a good chance to live up to a childhood dream. In a few seconds from now, I might as well drop dead in Tohma Seguchi's office room.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm really so sorry, Seguchi-san! I know why I'm here, it's about the rumors about Sakuma-san running around lately and it's my fault for not keeping my eyes open and I might as well kick Bad Luck and Nittle Grasper out of business because of my carelessness so I know I'm somehow responsible--"
"Sakano-san."
"--so if you'd be so kind enough as to just poison me to death instead of using a gun because somehow K-san kind of gave me a growing fright against those things--"
"Sakano-san."
"But I have to say that it's been nice working with him nonetheless and I tried my best so if there's any consolation--"
"Sakano-san!"
I abruptly stopped my rambling when Seguchi-san's voice finally rose an octave higher, thus, catching my attention. I get nervous quickly, and I tend to ramble about senseless things whenever I do. It uses up the adrenaline, I suppose. Somehow, I always burst up these frustrations in front of Seguchi-san for heaven knows what reason. You've got to admire him. I mean, years of my incoherent babbling and you'd think he would've shot me with one of K's magnums or something but no, Seguchi-san's ever so patient.
This is the signal for me to calm down and shut up because it's his turn to speak. It's always like this whenever I'm called to come to his office. I aim to please. So shoot me and all, but I all but dedicated my life to please this man.
As usual, he turns to me and graces me with that ever-present smile. I wonder why it's always like that. He's always with a smile, may it be even a smirk or whatever, it's always there. I often think about that actually. I mean, come on, nobody can be that optimistic, right?
"You've said something about the news around tabloids. And you're right, that's one of the reasons why I called you here," Seguchi-san started. Oh boy. Someone hand him a wooden bat before he actually pulls out a gun. Would he be able to use a gun though? He smiles a lot it's almost unbelievable to think he's even capable of murder. He goes on speaking. "But you need not worry. All I'll be asking of you is a favor."
"A...a favor?" I stuttered. Pathetic, isn't it? But I swear it upon my future grave. Standing in front of Seguchi-san is like standing in front of Kami-sama himself. Everyday is judgment day as far as I'm concerned. But what the hell is the problem? I panic a lot and Seguchi-san smiles a lot and I'll be relieved then he'll smile again and I'll smile back until my face cracks because Seguchi-san has such a nice smile and he can wear it like some famous fashion statement while I can wear it for but a while. What's my point in this? I panic around him even when it isn't necessary. I've known this for years, but I'm afraid of disappointing him, that's all.
I remember Suguru when I think of this. Like me, he also aims to please Seguchi-san, and that's why he works so hard. Seguchi-san has that effect on people I guess. He's so kind that all you want to do is to keep him smiling. So much of a leader. I am so glad I work for him.
Okay. Take that down. So far, that's the seventy-fifth time I said that this month. And to think the month just started three days ago. I might be breaking my record for December after all. But then again, I said that fifty times in a row when I got bored yesterday so I don't know if the fifty times thing would count. Oh, but I digress. Anyway...
"These news will surely affect Bad Luck," began Seguchi-san, cutting my line of thought. "Do not worry too much about Ryuichi. He's been in this career for years, and a small problem such as this will not affect him. But I am afraid it might affect Shindou's performance. He's been singing for two years now, but he has always stood by Eiri. Unanimously proclaimed as one of the most loved couple by their fans, it never crossed Shindou's mind that something like this could happen to him.
"What I want you to do is to make sure all of Bad Luck's activities go as smoothly as they should. Personal problems should not get in the way if you still want things to go as they had before. I've tried to speak with Ryuichi, but he won't say anything about it. I'm so sorry for all this trouble, Sakano-san."
It took a while for those words to register in my really thick skill. But once they did, I quickly shook my head and automatically bowed in front of Seguchi-san. "It's no bother, shachou. I'll do my best," I said, keeping my head low.
"I know you would," said Seguchi-san, and there's that smile again. It can end a raging war, I swear my life on it.
Geez. One would get the idea that I was in love with the guy. K once asked me during one of our coffee breaks about it. It was a joke, but really, one can't help but feel uneasy. Don't get me wrong, Seguchi-san's charisma is well-known, but no, I'm not in love with him. My devotion for him is like a student's devotion to a mentor, or something like that. After all, he was the reason why I got into the music industry to begin with.
"Okay, that about sums it up, Sakano-san. Thank you for your time. I think I should call Mika and tell her I'll be home early. Which should I cook: burgers or pasta?" he asked, that ever-present smile on his face. I also noticed that Seguchi-san's been spending a lot of time with his wife these past few days. Not that he doesn't have the right to, but I never really thought they were very close. Both of them seem to be so busy all the time. But him being closer to her is good, right? He seems so happier than usual these past few days. I wonder what happened.
"Uhm, pasta I think," I said, not really knowing which to say. But I heard that Seguchi-san makes really mean pasta. Some sort of specialty I think. So yeah, I think that one's the better answer.
"You think so?" he asked. He thought for a while, then gave me a smile yet again. "Yes, I think that's good. Mika's been having a bit of an appetite lately, so I wouldn't want her getting angry with me by feeding her foods with so much cholesterol," he said, letting out a short chuckle. "Thank you again, Sakano-san. Good luck with Shindou-san."
I stepped out of the office and took a long, deep breath. That went pretty well. Without my initial panic anyway. I really should get it inside my head that Seguchi-san never meant me any harm. But yeah, he still scares me. But after regaining my composure, I straightened myself up and started looking for K.
* * * * *
Uhm...okay, so that wasn't so bad. It actually went so well that I feel as though the world is planning something behind my back and is just playing dumb with me. It's like this. I finally convinced myself that I can't let Seguchi-san down - although that goes without saying from the very beginning - so I called Nakano up to check on Shindou. A few minutes into the conversation, Shindou's voice dominated the phone, and he himself told me that he was fine and would be coming back to NG to finish his album.
So now, here I am lounging on the same spot with K. We practically own this corner of the lobby since Bad Luck always seems to be late every time a meeting is scheduled. I hate these times. I have nothing to do but bite my nails, hoping that the members of the band I'm taking care of won't get themselves killed by the media or something that would hinder them from finishing their work.
"Sakano-san, stop fidgeting. They'll be here," K's voice said, followed by a quiet sip from his coffee cup. How can he do it? How can he be so calm at a time like this!?!? "They're always late. I know that there's nothing to worry about. Besides, this is Shuichi we're talking about. He's a strong kid, y'know," he said, almost as if he's reading my thoughts. I stare at the man for a good few minutes, wondering whether or not he's psychic or something. It's almost as if he knows everything that's about to happen. Why can't I be like that?
I sighed. "I don't know. It's just that it's been--"
But my words were cut off by a violent rumbling of the ground. There were some pretty loud banging and crashing from the hallway across from us, and K and I looked at the direction from which the noises came from. Sure enough, a puff of smoke came up and wheezed past me to land on K's lap.
"K~!!!" said the puff of smoke. It more like gushed actually, and 'it' is holding on to K's arm like a vice.
K groaned. "Ryuichi," he mumbled, an uneasy grin on his face. His eyebrow was twitching as he tried to unlatch Sakuma-san from his arm.
But the singer didn't seem to budge and he just looked up at K with big puppy eyes. Wow. For a man over 30, you'd think he was so much younger than Suguru. "Ne ne, I heard Shuichi is coming back. Is it true, is it true? Is he here yet? Is he, is he?" he asked, almost bouncing in his place while shaking K vigorously.
I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. I forgot that Ryuichi Sakuma also stays here in NG. It would be so awkward to have him and Shindou together. Shindou has been hiding from Sakuma for quite a while now. Though whether or not the singer of Nittle Grasper doesn't see it or just chose to ignore it, I'm not entirely sure.
K gave me a sidelong glance, and something told me that he knew what I was thinking. Aah, there it was again, the psychic thing. What did I tell you?
After finally taking Sakuma off his neck, K said, "Yes, Ryuichi, he's coming back and no, he's not here yet."
"Hurray!" exclaimed Sakuma. I don't think he even heard the last thing K said. Really. A man over 30. I really haven't much to say about the guy. Sakuma seemed to be looking for something as he dug up something from behind him. It took but a few moments for a familiar pink bunny to emerge. "Kumagoro, did you hear that? Shuichi-kun is back!" he said and jumped off of K.
"By any chance, you're not planning on doing anything, are you?" asked K, giving Sakuma what seemed like a suspicious look.
"Hm?" asked Sakuma, glancing up from his bunny to K. "What is K talking about? I just want to see Shuichi and say hello to him! Kumagoro and I missed him so much, isn't that right, Kumagoro?" He proceeded on glomping the little bunny. "But that's too bad because Ryuichi is going somewhere and he can't wait. Oh well, maybe we can see Shuichi next time, ne?" I didn't think it was possible, but his grin just widened. And his face didn't even crack. Wow again. That leaves only Ukai-san and the whole of Nittle Grasper might just be proclaimed the music band that has the biggest smiles.
K was still anxious - well, as far as 'anxious' looked like with him anyway. He's still pretty calm, but I guess I've been spending far too much time with him that I can already read him. Did I mentioned that Bad Luck is always late? K looked up at Sakuma. "Ryuichi, you're not going to do something like that thing on the restaurant again, would you?" he asked.
Sakuma stopped playing with his bunny and looked at K again. "Eh? You mean the--"
"Yo, Ryuichi!"
The three of us looked up at the sound of that voice. And right there by the entrance doors of NG stood Yuki-san's younger brother, Tatsuha Uesugi. He's been spending a lot of time with Sakuma, or so I just noticed. From what I remember from Shindou, this Tatsuha kid has a huge crush on Sakuma. I guess he finally got close to him. I'm quite sure he knows about that thing that happened between Sakuma and Shindou (who doesn't?), but he doesn't seem to be anywhere near bitter about it. He actually looked like he was glowing.
My line of thought was yet again cut off as Sakuma's high-pitched...uh, squeal echoed through the main lobby. "Tatsuha~!!!" he called out, literally tackling the young man in welcome. It was almost as if they haven't seen each other for a while, and that I rather doubt. So that kind of says a lot.
"Heh, good morning to you, too! So, are you ready to go?" he asked, straightening himself from Sakuma's tackle.
"Yep!" said Sakuma, and as he said this, he placed Kumagoro on Tatsuha's shoulder before turning back to me and K. "Ne, I'm sorry for bothering you, so I'll be going now. See you two later!" he said, waving to us before pushing Tatsuha out the main doors.
K and I were silent as we watched the two out. The glass doors allowed us to see them still as they walked away. Their backs faced us, but we can somehow see Sakuma saying something to Tatsuha, to which the younger man gestured the other to come closer. Sakuma did so and Tatsuha leaned in to whisper something to him. Sakuma leaned back and blinked for a second, before looking behind him to catch K's eyes. I looked alternately at him and K, only to land still on the man outside again as he grinned brightly and waved at K like an innocent child who didn't just kiss the lead singer of the band K was managing.
Oh yes, Ryuichi Sakuma can get away with murder. As for K, he sat there with a frown on his face, deep in thought. For a while I just sat there quietly, watching for any changes on his facial expression. By the time I got none, I decided to wake him up.
"Uh...K-san? Are you all right?" I asked, leaning in to poke him on the arm.
It took a while for him to respond, and when he did, I had to lean back to avoid getting smacked on the face. K was...well, beaming, to put things simply. "Ooh, I get it..." he drawled, his blue eyes twinkling in mischief, and he cast yet another side glance towards the main doors to the street from which Sakuma and Tatsuha took a turn. He then cast his eyes on me, and I almost flinched at the wide grin he wore.
"Er, you got what, K-san?" I asked tentatively, though I doubt he can even hear me. He was that lost in thought.
"I think we'll be all right after all, Sakano-san!" he said happily, still grinning.
Gods, these people really scare me. Everybody knows something I don't. Granted, I'm not as deep as most people are and half the time I panic more than anything, but it's just that I get really paranoid over the littlest things. And this, this situation where my co-worker's grinning from ear to ear and practically cackling under his breath...well, who can blame me when I say I'm scared?
It's times like these that I miss just being a simple fan boy who pays for concert tickets instead of being the one behind the production of the said events. But still, I also like working for Seguchi-san. This thought brings me comfort. I am so glad I work for him.
And that's the seventy-sixth.
End of Chapter 8
Oh yeah, this royally sucks, big time. This chapter is kind of rushed because I really am waaaay off schedule and I never really sympathized with Sakano much. I do like him, but I just don't think I can be one with his thoughts because we're not in the least bit alike . I miss Fujisaki so much! *hugs Fujisaki plushy*
I'll make this short because I really can't face you people now. *hides face in shame* Special hugs go to incoherence, Megamie, silvercross (thank you for liking the last chapter! And yeah, I like Ryuichi x Shuichi too, but they're so cute as just friends too, ne? ^.^), futagoakuma-tenshi01 (uhm, well, using different perspectives is the style of the fic. It's an experimental thing ^^; And the kiss...eh, it'll pay off in the next chapter ^.~), mad melma, hopeanne, Astralkitten, yamatoforever (oh yeah, post the next chapter quickly. Two months...I'm so sorry! *bangs head on her table*), MorganD, nanami27 (I didn't update for so long 0 I royally screwed it this time...*bangs head again*), aoi_megumi, Aishiteru (I love long reviews! *glomps* Thank you! And about Fujisaki, self-centered? Ehe, I don't know...but whoa, does that mean I'm self-centered too? o.O), Kamikakushi, Leina and Yui-Mag. Oh yeah, and special thanks to Mikuro Kurayami. I just finished my other fic and you pushed to another chaptered one again. Yyep, my life gets better by the minute, doesn't it? ^^;
Feedbacks are always appreciated! ^____^ I'm so sorry again! 0