AN: This is my first Fanfic so hope you enjoy. I forgot to mention that this is not beta-ed so if there are any problems please tell me.
Gravitation and its characters are not mine but belong to Maki Murakami. . KL Records, Illusionary Escape, Denzel, and Daniel are mine.
Summary: Shuichi finally reaches his breaking point and leaves the country to start anew. He gets a new name, new band, and changes everything about himself. When he finally returns to Japan with his new friends, will he return to his old life or keep his new one?
Normal
Dream
Ch 5: Meeting the Bands
Alex finally gets to NG, and feels a rush of memories bombard him. He grabs a hold of Braden's hands and they walk side by side together. Denzel leads them to the top floor to meet with the president of NG. The secretary tells them to knock and to go on in. Denzel open the door and lets the couple in first. They are meet with the two bands in question and blonde man talking discreetly to a man sitting down.
Everyone turns to face the new comers and greets them politely. The man sitting down, gets up and walks to the trio.
"Welcome to Japan, Illusionary Escape. I am Touma Seguchi and I am the keyboardist of Nittle Grasper as well as the head of NG. I hope your flight and stay will be pleasant."
"I am Alex Grant and I am the leader and singer of Illusionary Escape. The one to me left is our manager, Denzel Harris. The one to my right is Braden Sanders. He is the keyboardist, my best friend and lover. I hope you have no problems with that."
"No problem at all Mr. Grant. We have had our fair share of gays in this company. I just hope you are as great as Daniel makes you out to be."
"I would say the same for then bands that will open and close for us."
"Yes, I shall introduce each band and it members. First we have Bad Luck. Kyo Suzuki is the lead singer and he is the one with blue hair, Hiroshi Nakano is the lead guitarist and has red hair, and Suguru Fujisaki is the one with green hair and the keyboardist. Next we have Nittle Grasper. As you know I am the keyboardist. Ryuichi Sakuma is the lead singer and Noriko Ukai is the other keyboardist."
"It is a pleasure to make you meet you. I have heard you latest songs and am amazed how far you have gone since your debut, Bad Luck. I look forward to working with you, if you don't mind being the closing band for Illusionary Escape. I feel that Nittle Grasper is what we need to start off our concert and Bad Luck will be the finale to end the night. Will that arrangement work with everyone?"
"That sounds reasonable. We will all start to rehearse together tomorrow to collaborate our performances."
"I accept your conditions. I know the rest of the band will love to meet and play with you. May I ask you the blonde man by the window staring at me is?"
Everyone turn to look by the window and Tohma's desk.
"That is my brother-in-law, Eiri Yuki. He is a famous romance novelist."
"It is a pleasure to meet such a great writer."
"May I ask if you are related to Shuichi Shindo?"
Alex stiffened and tightened his grip on Braden's hand. Braden squeezes back to comfort him. Alex sighs and looks directly at his ex-love.
"I am sorry but I would have to say no. I have heard about his death and wish his friends and family a good life. May I ask why you ask though?"
"It's is not important. You just kind of remind me of him. Your eyes are the same shade."
Satisfied with Yuki's response he wishes everyone a good day and leaves with Braden and Denzel on his heels.
Still inside the office, Tohma asks Yuki, "I promised Shuichi to help you move on, Eiri. Stop looking for him and blaming yourself, I know you and this isn't healthy."
Eiri just glares and leaves the room. The tense air finally leaves and everyone sighs.
"I understand where Yuki-san is coming from. I have known Shu for so long that for a second even I thought Shu came back to life. Alex looks a lot like Shu except for the fact that his hair is darker and he his personality is calmer and more observant than Shu's."
They take the time to remember their loss companion. Even Kyo remembers when Shuichi's music reached him in his time of need. He would never forget how Bad Luck became his way out of the streets and into a stable environment. Shuichi's music saved him from trying to commit suicide. He would forever be grateful to his idol. So when he got the chance to replace Shuichi, he was hesitant at first. Then he decided that someone needs to do what Shuichi did for him so he accepted.
Back at the condo with Illusionary Escape
Ran into his room and cried and shook. Braden followed him to comfort him and be by his side till he slept. After a half hour of commotion, Alex finally tires out. Braden tucks him into bed and kisses his good night before leaving the room. He came out to meet the worried looks of the rest of the band and their manager.
"It seems one of his old friends had a suspicious thought about who Alex may have been or at least if they were at least related. The problem stemmed from the fact it was none other than his ex-lover. If any of his old band mates had said it, I don't think Alex would have reacted like this. I guess the stress of seeing everyone was too much. None of us was expecting to see the last cause of Alex's pain. We just need to let him rest for now. Be ready for tomorrow. We will be practicing with everyone."
Everyone nods and looks worriedly at the door but goes to bed to prepare for the next day. They know how stressful it is to return to the place of an old life or memory. They just wish Alex the best and promise to guard him till they return to America. Alex should never be alone no matter what.
AN: It seems poor Shu finally sees his old flame and couldn't take the painful memories it evoked. What will Illusionary Escape do now? What will Hiro and Yuki do with their suspicions? Will Tohma cause more harm than good if he interferes with Alex's life? How do the rest of the bands do feels about the physical resemblance of Alex and Shuichi? Till Next Time…
Two chapter in one night... this is the second...