AN: Tuesday, then we move to Wednesday ... just to clarify any date confusion. . I'M SORRY I'M SUCH A SLOW WRITER! I'm sure you all were just waiting on the edge of your seats for an update. (Damn writer's block ...)
Even though this took so long, this chapter has obviously been rushed through. Please forgive the craptacular writing. Oh and note ... the name changes are below for a reason ... it helps with the confusion ... skim them ... please?
And ... Hiro was supposed to show up this chapter ... he realized that he had an appointment with some big shot magazine (Rolling Stone ... pfft! He could have ditched!) and had to cancel, but he promises to come next chapter! I told him he'd better, 'cause I might have a small mob of angry fan girls on my hands if he didn't. So Shuichi apologizes for his spacyness and Sakano said he'd make sure that that Palm Pilot of Hiro's was working. Of course I got threats from K saying I'd better keep the fans at bay ... (I heard from Shuichi though that Hiro got scolded by Tohma so no one should really threaten the poor guy for lack of organization skills)
Thanks everyone reviewing:huggles audience: Keep doing it!
Maiko Shindou- (13) Maggie Shoeman
Shuichi Shindou - (16) Shane Shoeman
Ryuichi Sakuma - (17) Ryan Satterfield
Hiroshi Nakano- (17) Hilary (Hi) Nathan
Tatsuha Uesugi- (? looks 16) Thaddeus (Tad) Understold
Eiri Uesugi - (? looks 22) Eric Hueman
Tohma Seguchi - (?) Tohma Seguchi
Mika Seguchi- (-) Mira Sears
Suguru Fujisaki - (15) Sullivan Fulk
Taki Aizawa - (18) Taylor Ainsworth
Ma-kun - (-) Mark Kurt
Ken-chan - (-) Ken Chandler
Noriko Ukai - (18) Nova Upton
Claude K Winchester - (? looks 25) Claude K Winchester
Sakano - (28) Mr. Sakner
Yuki Kitazawa - (-) Yale Kitterman
Ayaka Usami - (?) Ayla Usher
The Third (Revised Again)
Shane was greeted with two enthusiastic cheers as he walked up the driveway of Ryan's two story house. It was an unspoken rule for them to meet at the home of the hyper seventeen year old unless something drastic came about, like a hurricane or one of the three were deathly ill. Since neither of those reasons came about very often, the small band met in an equally small garage at least two days out of every week.
"NOVA DID IT! NOVA DID IT!" Ryan crowed, barreling down and tackling a surprised Shane to the cement.
"She got a boyfriend?" The semi surprised boy guessed.
"Even better!" The other declared from atop his younger friend, "She finished the music for the song you wrote!" Nova chose that time to make her dramatic appearance from the garage, a satisfied smirk on her face, hands raised in flourish.
"You both may now kiss my feet in gratitude." She grinned, gesturing to her designer shoes.
Ryan heartily raised his hand, "Already done!"
Shane quickly stood, knocking a mussed appearing Ryan to the ground
"Let's hear it then." He said, unable to contain his excitement; not that he would have in any circumstance. "I changed the lyrics a little so we might need to tweak it a bit," He added, "but I wanna hear it!"
The oldest of the three seemed to be feeling exuberant that day, for she turned and cried, "Let us go then! To see what the great Super Nova has prepared in her burst of creative light energy!"
"Go forth!" Ryan called happily, scrambling from his place on the ground and sprinting after his purple haired leader.
Shane grinned, closely following after the other two "Onward," He added, "For the shrew has overcome her writer's block!"
Nova shot him a dirty glance before settling behind her two keyboards arranged in an 'L' against a wall in the front right of the open garage. Shane ignored her threatening glare and sat cross-legged on what he assumed to be a clean section of cementdirectly next to his microphone stand. Ryan skipped to his drums on the far left of the small set-up, grinning like a maniac.
The young musician tweaked the settings on each keyboard for a few moments, finally pausing to make sure the singer of their group was paying attention. With a nod from Shane and a few taps from Ryan, Nova pressed the 'Play' button on each keyboardsending the beat to vibrate through the air.
Shane hummed along, murmuring his lyrics while the song played. Occasionally he would frown but could be seen quickly picking up where he left off. The timbre was upbeat but graceful, consisting of mostly piano and string noises that flowed and layered in time with the almost inaudible bass beat that kept tempo. The melody ended, drifting off with the final instruments.
Nova released a whoop of achievement, "Perfect! Is it not?" She cried. Ryan clapped his approval from his drums, glancing at Shane to join his applause. The sixteen year old seemed to be considering something in his mind before he looked up, still appearing reflective.
"Let's try it with me singing." He said shortly, standing to adjust his microphone. The garage grew tenseShane's indifference had not been the expected reaction from the other two. It was very rare for him to even hint that he did not like something Nova had composed: while Shane never hesitated to point out bits and pieces that would not work with the vocals, the amateur singer had never out right acted as though any song was not workable.
"Ready?" Nova asked. Shane responded with a quick nod. The aria waved through once again, this time accompanied by Ryan and the singer.
Living the dreams I see today
it doesn't matter high or low.
'Cause in the end it'll be alright
you'll see that it is fantasy.
We are but phantoms, floating through the threads of reality -
Everything was brought to an abrupt stop, as Ryan suddenly slammed violently against his drums.
"WHAT WAS THAT!" He demanded. "You weren't even trying to match Nova!" The unexpectedly angry boy glared dangerously at the dumbfounded singer, "The lyrics fit perfectly in my head but you're trying to make her melody go around youbutchering what could be a half decent song!"
Ryan's words quickly registered his mind, sending Shane into a frustration fit, "If you think you can sing better than I can: go at it!" He stepped away from his microphone, gesturing almost sarcastically at the black stand, "Help yourself! I'd like to see you make it fit!"
The angered boy quickly stood, blustering to the spot Shane had pointed out. He glanced at Nova with irritation undisguised in his voice and face, "Start it." He ordered. Nova nodded, saying nothing against the brazen tone that she was not familiar to receiving.
As soon as Ryan heard his cue, the same words that Shane had stumbled over poured gracefully from his mouth. Every syllable that left him sent Shane cringing into himself at the ease his friend sang. Compared: Ryan made Shane look like a first grade student at a talent show.
The pink haired boy barely noticed the smug smirk on Ryan's face when he finished. He merely stared blankly before himself, leaning against the side of the garage. The other two waited for a response, but received non as Shane stood strait, walking mechanically down the driveway to his car hazardously parked on the sidewalk.
Nova and Ryan could only look at each other when their dumbfounded companion drove off without a single word.
Shane stared lifelessly at the grey mush that was supposedly to be his lunch sitting haplessly on molded plastic. He barely noticed the bustle about him; the gathering of people as each found their designated table. The world fell into the same confused monotone drone, blurring past him unacknowlaged.
"You look ecstatic."
The boy glanced up to the sarcastic voice beside him. Brown-eyed Sullivan Fulk looked down at him with a slight smirk on his face as he stood holding a lunch tray. In the two days that Shane had become acquainted to him, he learned quickly that despite his quiet natureSullivan was actually quite arrogant. Shane frowned unappreciatively. "Are you here to harass me?" He grumbled.
Sullivan frowned, slipping into a chair next to Shane in the eight seated circular table. "What's with you today? You were fine yesterday." The pink haired boy lifted a fork and began poking at what he assumed to be mashed potatoes.
"I'm leaving the band." He stated quietly. Sullivan gave an unsurprised glance as he attempted to chew his rubbery sandwich.
"Is this about that argument you and Ryan had?" He asked after swallowing.
Shane felt his fork slip from his fingers, falling with a loud 'clang' as he turned to the other boy with surprise etched on his features. Sullivan smirked again, "I saw it. I went to the address you gave me two days ago."
Shane blinked with confusion, "But ... I didn't see you at all ... where ?"
"The side of the garage." He answered easily. Sullivan returned to consuming his food, acting indifferent to the other's surprise. The silence that followed was heavy with Shane's apparent musing. His wasface screwed up with concentration leaving his food ignored as he seemed to be considering something important. Shane waited until the black haired boy's tray was empty to speak.
"So ..." He began slowly, "What did you think?" Sullivan studied him for moment, before turning to nitpick with the organization of his trash.
"You were all good ..." The boy said carefully, not sure of how his new acquaintance would react to an honest opinion.
"But ..." Shane filled in.
The smile that graced Sullivan's face was obviously practiced to perfection, meant to lessen the blow to whatever unfortunate being would be receiving his indirect insult. When that smile came to view, Shane became wary of the comment that was sure to flow bluntly from Sullivan's mouth. His wariness was not unneeded though it did little to soften the punch at his pride.
"Ryan and Nova are way out of your league."
Shane felt the sudden need to slam his head into a nearby wall with the hopes of plastering his brains as fresh paint. His emotions quickly ran wild. "DO I SUCK THAT MUCH?" He wailed. Sullivan could not hide his shock as the sixteen-year-old proceeded to break down in tears, ranting about his self-worth and inadequacy followed by fresh tears and even more raving.
Not one bothered to stop and ask what could be the matter. It seemed Sullivan was the only one who was confused at Shane's sudden mood-swing.
Finally the emotional child managed to calm down enough to form coherent sentences.
"And ... and ..." A sniffle "Why would Ryan not tell me! I mean ... he's my friend! It wouldn't have hurt my feelings if he had just told me he had a voice like that! He shouldn't be banging on drums! He should be kicking me off the stage for being a ... a ..." Shane's eyes quickly welled with tears once again. "A WANNA BE!"
Sullivan sighed dramatically as he realized Shane's state could last a very long time. He solved this problem by hitting the basket-case upside the head. The pink-haired wreck abruptly stopped his wailing from the pure shock of being struck.
"Finished?" Sullivan asked, voice laced with irritation. Shane nodded slowly, although his sniffling did not quite cease. The other leaned against his elbow, looking at Shane in the face to make sure he was listening. "Look, I didn't say you sucked. I said you were out of your league with the other two." Sullivan stated pointedly. "You need to work on it. That was my first thought when you started singing."
The authority in which Sullivan spoke forced Shane's attention to focus. He listened to every word that was said, and carefully stored the criticism for later consideration.
"After hearing Ryan," The black haired boy continued, "Maybe you knowing you need work on singing isn't such a bad thing."
"Huh?" Shane said dumbly.
"You have a rival now." Sullivan smirked, emphasizing his point. "A rival who is a lot better then you, and someone whose level you can place a goal on to achieve."
Shane turned away, staring blankly at the nearly empty table next to theirs. He almost did not want to accept the words coming from this near-stranger's mouth, but everything said was true: one of his best friends was now indeed his opponent. That small fact hurt; knowing someone he considered an equal had more talent in what he considered his forte.
Seemingly guessing at the thoughts slowly degrading his self-confidence, Sullivan cleared his throat to gain attention once again from his wandering audience. "But that also means you can't sit idle and do nothing but mope." He added nearly cheerfully. Shane raised an eyebrow, offering an doubting glance at the statement that certainly was not finished.
"Why don't you sing with me at the keyboards?"
Sullivan almost appeared hopeful as he patiently waited for an answer. The pink haired boy was a bit taken aback at the forwardness of the question; and in such a short span of time ... "Umm ... well ..." Shanedesperately attempted to collect his thoughtsonly to fail miserably.
The younger of the two brushed over the fluster effortlessly, "Of course I don't expect you to just say 'yes'. You'll probably want to hear what I can do first; which I totally understand. I'm not as good as Nova but I think you'll be impressed ..."
Shane let the other boy ramble at will, allowing his mind to become blissfully blank of any considerations he would have to face soon. 'An empty mind is a happy one ...' He uttered in his head.
This state of a comatose worked well for him until familiar, definite footsteps could be heard approaching. Still mindless and day dreaming, the boy reasoned that if he ignored the raging aura behind him, out of his sight: it would go away. Maybe the aura did not understand his reasoningas it was still surrounding him after nearly a minute.
Sullivan glanced nervously between the aura-that-did-not-exist and Shane repeatedly before nudging the one doing the ignoring on the shoulder. "Hey ... uh ... there's a really pissed looking ..." Shane held up a hand to insure silence.
"Shh ..." He hushed gleefully, "If I can't see her she can't hit me."
Pain followed the statement.
Clutching at his magenta scalp, Shane wailed pitifully once again, "What was that for!" He howled.
"Your stupidity!" Nova declared, smacking the boy again. "And still ..." Another strike; "For your stupidity."
"So mean ..." The abused child pouted, though it was more than obvious he was only playing.
Nova huffed irately, setting her hands on her hips. "We need to talk." She announced, standing as though she expected the boy to follow her.
Shane did not budge from his seat. "So talk." He mumbled. He was still not in the best of moods and didn't feel like being subjected to one of Nova's tirades alone. If she were in front of people while yelling at him, at least he would get the condensed version of her undoubtably planned scolding.
The purple haired girl glared at Sullivan who took that as a cue to dump his lunch tray. When the boy was out of ear-shot, Nova started. "Will you talk to Ryan?" The question came out more as an order than as a request. Shane frowned, turning back to his lunch tray.
"Why should I?" Reluctance evident in his voice.
"Because he's scared to death you hate him now."
Puzzlement crossed Shane's face, "Why would I hate him?" He asked, "If anything he should be mad I acted like a prick." Nova rolled her eyes in a 'well duh' gesture.
"Yeah, he should." She confirmed, "But he's not. He thinks you're still mad after you threw that hissy fit last night. If you would look over there ..." Nova pointed to a table in the far left corner of the cafeteria behind them, "He's practically having a hernia since he begged me not to come over."
Shane turned to see Ryan staring at them with a petrified expression. When the brown haired boy noticed Shane looking, he ducked behind Teddy and pretended to be interested in the empty wall across from him. Shane sighed, turning to face Nova in all her wrath. "Look, tell him I'm not angry, and that I'll speak to him tonight." At Nova's slight scowl, he quickly added: "I just need to think about a couple of things ... there's ..." He glanced at Sullivan in the distance, who was chatting with a red-headed boy near the trash cans.
"There's a lot of things happening at once, and I need to sort them out." He finished wearily. 'There really is for some reason ...', Shane established in his mind. 'And if feels like it's coming on too fast ...'
Nova's face softened with worry, as though she suddenly understood how tired her friend was. "Okay ... just ..." She leaned down, wrapping her arms around Shane's shoulders lightly in a comforting embrace. "Just don't leave Ryan hanging for too long. I hate seeing him paranoid like this." The pink haired boy smiled, knowing that was Nova-language for: 'Take your time, but tomorrow you owe me an explanation.'
He nodded, and Nova left him; most likely to relay his message to Ryan.
A few minutes later Sullivan returned, nearly skipping with happiness. "You won't believe what just happened!"
Shane fidgeted uncomfortably outside Ryan's house, playing and replaying what he was going to say over and over in his mind. He had called not even a half an hour earlier informing the brunet that he would be arriving on that fine Wednesday evening. The boy, instead, found himself admiring the weather, marveling how clear the sky was in its red-violet haze. The sun set quickly, (at least it seemed more prompt than normal) before flashing brilliantly to reveal the dim indistinctness of starless twilight.
The lights inside glittered more brightly than ere, intimidating the nervous singer despite their cheeriness. It took him several moments to register that the front door had opened, silhouetting a figure whom he recognized especially since it was the main cause for his restlessness.
"You've been standing there for ten minutes!" The figure called from its distance, "You'll get sick if you just stand there all night."
Shane knew, even though he couldn't see his face in the dark; Ryan was smiling like nothing had taken place.
Claude Winchester, a.k.a. K to almost everyone,was a nervous wreck as he made his way to his superior and current employer: Tohma Seguchi. Even angels had names, and Tohma's was one to be feared. K had known Seguchi for many, many years andwhile he was not particularly frightened of him hedid not especially want to be on the archangel's bad side. He was worried of this event happening for one reason, and only one: he had slipped up the job that had been specifically assigned to him.
Watch after Eiri and make sure nothing happens.
K had not expected for the teenager and his guardian angel to meet so prematurely. This was a big deal,as any human that has been freshly bestowed with a new guardian has habit of being able to 'sense' the foreign being at first. If the two happen to meet earlier than planned this gives the human a feeling of deja vu. Deja vu was a very, extremely bad thing in this particular case. It also meant possible flash backs for the overly protected Eiri; that was what Tohma had been trying to prevent for several years.
As soon as K had recieved word that he had been summoned to the other blonde he knew word had quickly reached Seguchi while the angel was undoubtedly keeping close surveillance.
"Come in."
Had he knocked? K started when he realized he was standing before Seguchi's office door. Heaven had given the illusion of worldly objects to those that had once been alive. The mind could only comprehend so much after a lifetime of accepting what could be touched and seen. Even Seguchi most likely would not be able to grasp what really was around them should he be given the gift of seeing past the veils. Humans had the uncontrollable fate of being shrouded in apparition even after death.
The blond entered quietly, being sure of keeping the denotation of calm and collected. "I'm sure you already know." K asked as jovially as he could muster.
A slightly irritated glance from Tohma was his affirmative answer. "Yes, I know." He said dryly, returning to whatever work he always seemed swamped with. "I am also aware that it could not have been helped. You can not be in two places at once."
K considered briefly of responding with, 'But I am the all knowing God!' but quickly decided against it. Instead, he asked the question that had been stewing in his mind since the controversial event, "What do you think this means for the two of them?" Seguchi's response could greatly effect K's future decisions involving the task he had been given.
Tohma's attention shifted from his desk to the boisterous man standing across from him. "Honestly, I'm not sure." He said unvaryingly. "They did not have much contact and Eiri, at least, does not seem to be dwelling on the matter."
'But the boy is ...' K concluded. Which meant he would definitely recognize Eiri when they met. That was not good. A guardian had to remain as detached as possible without losing their charge's trust. The reason for meeting in person was so if there was a situation that required individual, or any contact in the mortal realm the one being helped would have no reason to refuse. However, there was the problem of the mortal attempting to become too close to their guardian ...
"What do you want me to do about the boy?" K had a vague guess at what his superior would say, but had an idea to throw onto Tohma's shiny desk.
Seguchi chuckled quietly, "Don't make it sound as though we have to get rid of him." He said in humor. "Just make be sure that they do not," The amusement fell from his eyes, "meet again. I have already been trying to find someone else take take Eiri's job since last week. I made protests from the beginning and -"
"What about Tats - er, Thaddeus?" K interjected quickly. From the surprised cast across Tohma's face, he knew the other angel had not considered it. He waited patiently as Tohma obviously mulled the thought over.
"No." He said at length, "The resemblance is too close. This has to look as a complete coincidence. Shane will forget in a short amount of time if they don't meet again." K felt something drop to the pit of his stomach. That feeling must have radiated, as Tohma quickly added: "This is a completely different situation. If it is taken care of quickly there will be nothing to worry about."
K just knew God was laughing at Tohma's attempts to change what had obviously been written.
'The turnout will not be good ... events are destined to repeat themselves ...'
"I had a strange dream last night ..."
Curious blue eyes blinked at him with surprise, "Huh? About what?"
Shane smiled, glancing away from the boy who seemed puzzled at his change in topics, "It was me ... but it wasn't me ... it was someone else ... in a different time, a different place." He drawled off in thought.
"And?" Ryan crawled across the bed the two were sitting on, kneeling beside the other who still refused to look at him.
"He was happy ..." The pink headed boy murmured. "Despite everything ..."
"What was 'everything'?" The question was not mocking, it was in honest curiosity.
Shane emitted a short snort before responding, "I don't know ... that's just it." He said with a touch of amusement.
"Hmm ..." Ryan hummed quietly. He shifted around the other boy to wrap his arms about Shane's body from behind. "I understand." He said cheerfully.
Shane's eyebrows raised, "You do?" He felt Ryan nod against his shoulder.
"But ..." He added quickly, "You can't let yourself be another ... no matter how much something confuses you, or how much you want it."
The youngest shifted in the other's embrace. "You're being serious ..."
"Of course, if you're going to leave me I can't let you do so thinking that you can try to copy someone else!"
Shane winced. He had finally come to terms with Ryan as far the little spat from yesterday. Neither was truly angry at the other; they had come to the conclusion that the squabble had merely been a release of tension. Ryan admitted in a roundabout sort of way that he had been wanting to take over singing for a while: he felt he could do much better than Shanewhich was a little fact the younger boy had already reluctantly acknowledged to himself.
He was leaving the band, and Ryan did nothing to try to stop him. Confessed, Shane had hoped for a bit of a fight but was not overly surprised the brown-haired boy accepted the decision obligingly. Ryan had only worried that they would not be friends after the whole ordeal but Shane quickly reassured that while rivalry was now indeed an issue: it did not mean that their companionship was any weaker.
Rivalry.
The word had provoked a gleam in Ryan's eyes that Shane was sure had been present in his own when Sullivan had made his observations on the situation. He knew somehow, that this all was a turning point; now he was setting his sights beyond the possibly false agreement of friends he had known for years for the opinions and cooperation of those he was positive would attempt to help him as well as themselves. This was new; things were changing and steadily becoming more exciting than with just Nova and Ryan.
For now however, Shane was relieved he did not lose anyone over these steady changes and was content to come to silent revelations that Ryan was surely perceiving also. Tomorrow would mark a fresh day: both knew that the competitions to be the best would begin then, and one would have to take the other's determination genuinely if music was a serious occupation for their futures.