Etude
by Scarlet
Chapter One - The Overture
Rain from the retreating storm had diminished outside as dusk had approached. A light draft slid into Eiri's study through a window the novelist had slightly cracked open just a few hours ago.
Eiri leaned backwards into his chair, propping his left elbow onto the folded arm across his waist. His loosely closed hand absently hovered centimeters from his lips as he perused through the last four paragraphs on his laptop. In a swift motion he tapped the keyboard, saving his work, and folded the monitor down.
'I should just stop the book here,' he mused as he took off his glasses and pushed back his chair. Raking a hand through his blonde hair, he walked to the window, abruptly shutting it. Leave the story on edge with no conclusion or aftermath. Wouldn't that be interesting.
Collecting his faded tan cup and lighting a cigarette, Eiri turned off the lights and made his way into the brightly lit living room. Ruining the softener to the strike. It often left his readers in dissonance and unsatisfaction when he pursued that route, though never fully for the ending in the past. Perhaps that's what he wanted this time.
The writer's thoughts came to a halt at the sight that met him. Strewn all over the floor, sofa and table was a large mesh of sheet music paper, folders, notebooks, CDs and an assortment of wires. In the eye of the storm, Shuichi laid on his stomach lengthwise on the longer portion of the L-shaped sofa, wearing a dark red tank top and knee length shorts. On the coffee table rested his keyboard synthesizer, dragging wires all the way from the abandoned frame stand on the far side of the room. The waste basket had tipped over, overflowing it's contents onto the floor, mainly crumpled paper. The vocalist cradled a small laptop in his hands and sported large earphones on his head, which were being tilted side to side to whatever infernal music the boy was listening to.
Eiri controlled his temper at the disarrayed state his living room had transformed into. At least the little brat had gathered enough sense to keep quiet. Stepping over wires and papers, the author moved to stand in front of him. He realized that Shuichi's eyes were closed when the boy didn't respond to his presence. Standing still patiently, Eiri watched with a slight upturn on the corner of his mouth as his lover hummed softly, auburn locks shifting to his movements. The singer looked up suddenly with a jump, feeling Eiri's eyes on him.
"Eiri! Don't sneak up on me like that!" he yelped as he scrambled to take off his earphones and sit up. He eyed him suspiciously and quickly reached to turn over the stack of papers on the table.
"Just how long were you standing there?" Then, he perked up, expression suddenly changed as an afterthought hit him. "Are you going to take a break now?" he asked excitedly.
Eiri rolled his eyes at the vocalist's mood swing antics and now large adoring violet eyes. "Idiot. Pick up this mess. You don't need all these wires." He paused to scan the room. "I'm surprised you didn't get electrocuted to death during the storm."
Shuichi grinned widely. "Ahaha, that's cause Eiri cares about meee," he sang. The author ignored him and stabbed out his cigarette in the ashtray.
"Oh, look, isn't it cool?" The singer held up the mini laptop. "Sakuma-san sent it to me from America!" Eiri raised an eyebrow. "It's especially adapted for sound editing and mixing.. I bet it's even better than Suguru's!" Shuichi set it aside, unplugged a cord from the back and began winding it around his earphones. "He called this morning to say he was sorry he couldn't come back for the 16th.. but it's okay. Sakuma-san is always so busy. An American premiere sounds exciting though, it's a very big deal in L.A. he said!" The singer paused and looked around. "Oh, where's Kumagroo? He was sent to celebrate with me too!" Shuichi laughed as he picked up the stuffed pink bunny from under the table. He held it by the arms, making it dance on his knees.
'That's right,' Eiri silently remembered. Shuichi's birthday was next month. Bad Luck's second CD release was scheduled for the same day. They were already rapidly approaching the end of March.
"Clean this," the writer ordered before turning around and retreating to the kitchen.
He placed his cup in the sink and moved to take out a beer from the refrigerator. Casually leaning back on the counter, he slowly drank and thought quietly.
Shuichi replaced his synthesizer back to its original resting spot and unplugged the power cord. As he moved to sit down on the sofa and straighten all his music into order, the back of his thigh met the edge of something. Pulling out the obstruction from between the cushion, he realized it was Eiri's book. The singer smiled, moving a thumb across the cover gently. After nearly three months, he had finally found enough extra time between recordings to finish his lover's last novel. 'Shindou Shuichi is officially up to speed!' he thought happily. It was just as well. The writer was nearly done with his next installment.
Of all of Eiri's novels, Shuichi had truly fallen in love deepest with the one he held in his hand. His schedule had been hectic with the upcoming release impending upon them, but he had taken every opportunity he could to dive back into his lover's world. It really was beautiful. It may actually be an understatement. The vocalist couldn't have been happier that it was a world he personally could share in from experience. Eiri had really done his research.
Though there wasn't a request for a new song from his band.. there probably wouldn't be one until after their promotional tour, he felt inspired to create a special one. The notes and chords that had been building up in his mind since his beginning of the novel and were now threatening to overflow. As he had played around with the programs from Ryuichi, his imagination had leapt into all different tangents.
Shuichi carefully tucked the novel with his new created sheet music into a folder as if it was his good luck charm. He would sneak it back into the study when Eiri was away. He hoped the author hadn't noticed its absence.
As the vocalist padded into the kitchen, his heart stirred at the sight of his lover. Eiri was sitting at the kitchen table; left hand supporting the peacefully sleeping expression of Japan's most gorgeous man. The other lay still beside an opened beer can and atop today's newspaper. He must have been more tired than he thought, Shuichi realized. The singer had heard him mention that the deadline was at the end of this week.
He treaded softly towards the writer carefully, so as not to wake him and bent his figure sideways very slowly to examine his face. Shuichi smiled at the endearing look he had been searching for. Stray blonde strands fell in front of his eyes and his lips were parted slightly that gave way to even breathing.
Suddenly, the phone rang, startling the inhabitants in the kitchen. Both men froze in place as Shuichi was caught face to face inches away from Eiri's now irritated scowl. He grinned sheepishly, quickly becoming increasingly nervous under the piercing hazel glare. Both said nothing as the phone went through two short rings before going to the automated voice message. Eiri had set it up long ago to give him as little disturbance as possible.
"Uesugi-san!" It was Mizuki. "I'm terribly sorry for calling so late but this is rather urgent." The writer glanced at the clock. 9:08. Shuichi quizzically peered at him with showing concern and prodded him gently. "Ne, Eiri, maybe you should pick it up.." The writer made no gesture to get up, eyeing the machine calmly.
"You must be busy with the manuscript so I won't disturb you any further tonight," she added quickly. The singer heard him snort shortly. His editor suddenly began talking rapidly, an undercurrent of excitement in her voice. "Your publicist forwarded a message to my headquarters phone just before closing of some truly wonderful news regarding Etude. This is the most exciting opportunity I have ever encountered but I won't ruin the surprise here without doing it proper justice. Please call me first thing tomorrow to set up a meeting. Goodnight!" Eiri furrowed his eyebrows in suspicion. Etude had been his eight novel.
He and his editor often had very different views of what was considered "good news." Mizuki's version usually involved a guest appearance of some kind. But it didn't make sense.. promotions for the novel had been months ago. Other of her "good news" incidents had involved award nominations, but they were usually held before the fall. He was skeptical that this would be anything close to surprising as she had very enthusiastically quoted.. though, at the moment he had to admit he was quite curious.
Shuichi smiled knowingly, sensing the internal battle Eiri was having with himself.. to wait until morning or give in. He had nearly burst from happiness at the title of the book being mentioned. That book. He couldn't wait to know what it was! Just thinking about it was making him fidget in place with eagerness.
Eiri shot him a reproachful look and grabbed his elbow. "Stop that!"
Shuichi simply responded by throwing his arms around his neck in a tight embrace and laughing.
Eiri stood at the corner of a crowded intersection, watching the morning vehicles and pedestrians pass by with an uninterested look on his face. He was donned completely in black and had his hands in the pockets of a dark gray trench coat, unbuttoned and hanging loosely at the knees. A cigarette was dangling from his lips and he possessed a large manila portfolio folder tucked under his left arm.
Slowly making his way across the street as a series of lights turned green, the writer entered a more secluded neighborhood with small trees that adorned either side of the road. Small, elegant glass fronted shops lined the pavement and Eiri soon crossed onto the vacant sidewalk across the street. A large, well kept playground was revealed through the tall black spires he walked beside that fenced off the area.
Today had been the warmest day since winter had given way to spring, though that wouldn't matter to Shuichi. The novelist smirked as he remembered that his lover had chosen to wear a small t-shirt and jeans this morning. Eiri had found that he would always end up wearing the most impractical of clothing, no matter the time of year. He had thrown a hoodie at the kid's head for good measure before the singer left for work, belittling him for his stupidity.
A low rumbling sound from above caused the writer's gaze to travel upwards through the bare branches to meet a large airplane. It was already at a high altitude and was slowly flying away from him towards his left peripheral vision. Unconsciously, a gentle graze of New York suddenly crossed his mind. Eiri lowered his eyes to the ground and tossed his cigarette onto the street away from him.
Mizuki was already sitting outside the posh cafe in a pale, pink hued suit and skirt, looking attentive as she perused through the contents of a black folder. There were a few others sitting in the proximity, also taking advantage of the good weather. She greeted him with a lively smile as he sat down, bidding him good morning and her gratitude for meeting so early with her on short notice. He returned a few brief words before sliding the manila portfolio across the table to her. "It's done."
"Uesugi-san, I'm pleasantly surprised that you completed the manuscript a day before the deadline. I can only remember this happening once.. your fifth book I believe?"
"I just finished it this morning," he replied curtly, not feeling conversational after his all nighter.
His editor bowed slightly. "Thank you for all your hard work," she said gratefully as a waiter appeared with two cups of coffee. Mizuki must have ordered before he arrived.
She folded her hands atop the manuscript and leaned forward. "Now, onto the matter at hand," she stated with a mischievous hint of a smile.
Hiro handed Shuichi a copy of a popular entertainment magazine that lay nearby as the two sat together in NG's lobby. The afternoon sun filtered into through the tall glass panes, highlighting the large, high ceiling area. The guitarist pointed to a caption on the cover that anticipated the release of Yuki Eiri's ninth book and glanced at this watch.
"Ah, Shuichi, I'm going to go upstairs to see what's taking Suguru and K so long. I bet they're still upstairs in the editing room duking it out with some poor employee." Hiro chuckled and got up. He bonked the singer on the top of his light auburn head with his knuckles. "Don't move, ok?"
"Owwww! Hiro, that hurt!" The singer covered the abused spot with both his hands and pouted angrily as his best friend retreated towards the elevators. They had agreed to go out to lunch at the new Malaysian restaurant that had opened two blocks away. Sakano had skittishly stuttered the excuse of a weak stomach and had fretfully gathered a messy stack of papers up to Seguchi's office. The producer's workload had drastically climbed after Bad Luck had finished the second CD recording.
Shuichi flipped through the magazine in his lap and read the one page article that was printed next to a picture of his lover. "It's as if a design is written in Yuki-Sensei's mind every time, before he even types the first page." The words from a representative at Hakusensha Agency [1], Eiri's publishing company, stood out most to the vocalist. His memory supplied him with the numerous times he had watched Eiri sitting before the laptop or standing at the window silently contemplating. Those hazel eyes would be glazed over in a distant manner that told Shuichi that he was no longer really there.
It must be wonderful living like one has two lives. But physically living must wane in comparison to the worlds and stories in his mind, if Eiri's books were any indication to that endless reservoir. He frowned sadly. All he wanted ever was to just be close to Eiri. It didn't matter if he could never fully belong to him. 'Are you happy?' he wondered.
Hiro appeared pushing a glowering Suguru forward out of the elevator and towing their blonde manager in stride. K was laughing loudly, spinning one of his guns on his index finger. Shuichi smiled and leapt up from his seat to met them, all thoughts momentarily forgotten.
The guitarist tossed a faded yellow and white hoodie at the singer's head when he approached and winked. Shuichi sighed and rolled his eyes at having had the same incident occur twice in one day.
"Oh, by the way, I have big news! You're all going to be filmed on TV today!" The band face faulted into the table and onto their food almost simultaneously. K flashed a large menacing grin.
"K-san, just when where you going to decide to tell us?! Don't tell me it's right after this," Hiro exclaimed, turning to see Suguru violently choking and turning blue. The guitarist frantically patted his back and handed him a glass of water. Shuichi's large violet eyes went impossibly wide and stood up to lean forward towards K.
"REALLY!? Really really?! When?! What do we have to do?! I'm so EXCI-"
Hiro pulled the squealing singer back down and covered his mouth before the entire restaurant could find out who they were.
"Shouldn't we be going back to NG if we have somewhere to be?" Hiro asked, still restraining the babbling singer. "Hmm.." K glanced at his watch and cupped his chin.
"Perhaps we should, they should be coming in about ten minutes." Suguru suddenly spit out the mouthful of water he had just drunk and K laughed in triumph. "No need to thank me now!"
Eiri entered the apartment and was nearly forced back out when Shuichi met him at the door with a forceful hug. "Eiri! Where have you been!?"
The writer struggled momentarily to hold onto the doorframe. "Idiot, let me get inside first!" Shuichi loosened the hold on his lover as he shut the door and slowly shrugged off his coat, moving to hang it in the closet. When he turned back around, the vocalist embraced him again and looked up admiringly into his eyes.
"Eiri, tell me what happened with Mizuki today! Please? I've been dying to know all day." The novelist furrowed his eyebrows and stared down ominously at the singer. "Pleeease?" The boy playfully shook him around the waist. "Come on!"
The writer pushed him off. "Mind your business." He moved past his lover to sit on the sofa, stretching his long legs and placing his elbows on the backrest. As he leaned his head back and closed his eyes, the singer climbed onto the sofa and straddled his legs, facing him. "Eiriii," he whined. The novelist peeked open an eye and sighed. He blinked and tilted his head sideways at the movement he saw. Looking past auburn hair, Eiri realized that the singer had the television on mute.
"What were you watching?"
Shuichi squirmed in place. "Oh, Space Shower TV [2] just announced on the news that they're going to show a featurete of Bad Luck at nine o'clock! Isn't that cool? I can't wait to see it! They came this afternoon to film but K only-" Eiri placed his fingertips over the boy's mouth.
"I'll see it at nine then." Shuichi broke out into a magnificent smile, but then faltered a little. "Eiri.. are you ok?" he quietly asked, his voice suddenly more sober. The singer tugged at his shirt lightly, making the writer looked at him. "You look so tired.. ne, Eiri.. don't get sick again, ok?" The vocalist searched his eyes worriedly and reached out to massage the blonde's neck and shoulders gently.
"I slept for a while today." Eiri placed a hand on his waist and ran his fingers down to his hip, telling him not to worry.
"Just take it easy tonight.. I'll take care of you. I stopped to bring home some Malaysian food for you after work. It's really good if you want to try some.. we went there today."
The author suddenly held up two DVDS in between them. "Would you like to watch these?"
Shuichi blinked in confusion and looked around. Where had Eiri gotten them from? The writer's hazel eyes studied him intently over the two objects as the younger man took them.
"Oro..? What are these for?"
"Research."
The vocalist looked at him disbelievingly. "For your next book? But you just finished one today." The singer turned the movies over in his hand, examining them. He suddenly perked up, eyes vivid with delight.
"Can we watch both?"
"If you're quiet."
"Can we make a bargain?"
Eiri raised an eyebrow. "I'm listening."
"If I'm quiet can you tell me about your meeting with Mizuki?" he asked slyly.
"Maybe."
"Awww, maybe?" The boy pouted cutely.
"I thought you wanted to see your clip at nine." He glanced at the clock behind Shuichi. "It's 6:15."
Violet eyes traveled up to the ceiling momentarily as he thought. "If you want to eat now and then watch one, we can still see it."
"Mm."
"Ok then, I'll go heat it up!" Shuichi laughed and pecked the writer quickly on the cheek before scrambling to get up. "Hooray, I get to spend time with Eiri!" he cheered loudly and hopped in long strides towards the kitchen.
Eiri suddenly missed his close proximity and stared at the entranceway the little brat had just disappeared through. The gentle smile on his face was unmistakable as he slowly got up to follow his lover.
Shuichi sat on the sofa studying the cover of the movie Eiri was putting in. It was titled Hiroshima in bold characters and pictured the ruined city skyline in fading gray.
This was a very famous film. He remembered that the picture had been greatly praised when it came out about six years ago.. and was still even considered a landmark to Japanese film makers today. It was directed by the critically acclaimed Kazeshige Akira.
Violet eyes skimmed over the inscription on the back. The story followed a poor family living in Hiroshima during World War II. It detailed each family member's life and involvement in the war up to and after the atomic bomb. He vaguely recalled watching small parts of it with his parents once, though it was a long time ago. The vocalist noted that the film won both best picture and best director that year.
Shuichi picked up the second movie that Eiri had somehow gotten a hold of. It was called Three Fields and Skies in white and showed an etched outline of a meadow on the crimson background. The singer blinked. He hadn't known that Kazeshige-sama directed this.
Eiri's publishing company had invited the writer to attend the premiere last year because of the nature of the story. Eiri had declined, but Hiro had taken Ayaka to see it.
The film was about the lives of two childhood friends and their sudden separation after a accident in their hometown. The story detailed their fateful reunion after living ten years apart, and subsequently, one more a decade later; their meeting each time under drastically changed circumstances.
It was essentially a love story. The picture won best original score last year, composed by Hideyuki Nozue. Eiri turned off the lights and watched as Shuichi laid both films together side by side on the coffee table.
"The two are opposite masculine and feminine polarities," he said distantly, to no one in particular. Shuichi moved to press against his side when he sat down. "I love you," he whispered.
Eiri leaned his head back in the dark as the ending credits continued slowly, mentally gathering himself. His recently crushed cigarette still emitted a stream of smoke from the ashtray. He had seen this film once when he was younger. Though, it was now apparent to him that it had not, in any shape, diminished the powerful effect the story commanded.
Shuichi had wept profusely through the full two hours. The idiot had finally cried himself to sleep under the writer's arm. His knees were drawled up and supported the agitated tear stained face.
Eiri frowned regretfully, smoothing his lover's soft hair. Perhaps this hadn't been a good idea. The older man hit the remote and turned off the player. Two music program hosts immediately came onto the screen. The novelist paused to look at the singer again.
"Shuichi," he called, shaking him gently. The boy didn't stir. Eiri sighed and gingerly extracted himself from the singer, standing up. He fumbled around in the dark for a spare tape and pushed a new one into the VCR. The writer set the timer to record for one hour and stood up. That should be enough.
The novelist motioned to turn off the television but stopped abruptly as the footage changed to a smiling and waving Shuichi, sitting on a foldable metal chair in his studio. One of the male hosts had done a lively over voice narration as the camera moved across the hardwood floors to capture the profile of the other members. They were showing all of Japan the studio where Bad Luck had worked to create their songs.
The voice detailed how they had been fortunate enough to be invited to film Bad Luck in their recording studio with the upcoming release of April Rain so closely anticipated. The footage switched to Shuichi talking to the camera about what he thought of the second CD. Music from their past hits began playing quietly in the background.
The writer thought he looked rather mature. As he talked, the singer would smile and occasionally touch his hair to gather his thoughts. He was sitting alone in a quiet room, his legs folded to one side on top of the sofa and a bottle of water in his hands. A window with white blinds behind him showed the afternoon sun illuminating his auburn hair.
The scenes transitioned casually between each member's personal interviews on the same sofa and matched what they were talking about with footage of them moving about the studio discussing work. This feature was done fairly well, Eiri thought. The camera continued by showing Hiro adjusting his guitar to a chromatic tuner. Shuichi held up a magazine behind Suguru's head as the keyboardist ran a sound check, pointing to a picture of the writer himself and winking at the camera. Eiri snorted and shook his head. That idiot.
"We asked Bad Luck if they would play a few numbers for our viewers," the narrator continued. Shuichi was shown putting on a large set of earphones as he made his way behind the glass panel to the microphone. "Their latest hit single, Sorely Missed Colors, soared to the number one spot almost overnight upon its release early this week." The singer gave a thumbs up to his band.
"But most notably, the one number that gave Bad Luck its greatest claim to fame would be Glaring Dream. The slower acoustic release was pushed down to number nine last week, having strongly dominated the charts since the New Year. Here is a special live coverage of their song."
Eiri's eyes watched distantly. This was the first track Shuichi had recorded after coming back from Bad Luck's first promotional tour last spring. 'It had been after New York.' The song was about him.
How many times had he heard this? Listening to the lyrics among only a guitar and piano refrain had given Shuichi's voice a raw sound, clearly demonstrating the level of his talent. You could hear his passion.. and the heartbreak in his voice. The song stood as a testament to their love.
Seeing his lover closing his eyes and beginning to sing as the introduction ended made the writer decide that he didn't want to see the boy like this. It was more than he could handle for one day. He turned off the television.
Turning around to the sofa, the writer bent down and encircled one arm around Shuichi's shoulders and another beneath the boy's knees. Lifting him up, he briefly touched his lips to his lover's hair before taking him to bed.
[1] An actual Japanese publishing company
[2] Japan's largest No.1 music channel covering all popular artists. http://www.spaceshowertv.com |