Gravitation Fan Fiction ❯ Center of Gravity ❯ Opportunities ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer Addendum: Mr. Sakano gets added to the story in this chapter. I don't own him either. And I'm also planning to make up lots of stuff about N-G Productions that's different from the manga and the TV show, but it works better for the story.

Warning: This chapter contains explicit language and sexual situations.

-o-o-o-

Chapter 3: Opportunities

“Are you listening to me, Shuichi-kun?” Mr. Sakano exclaimed. He shoved his glasses up his nose with the tip of a finger.

Shuichi started out of a reverie. “Yes! I'm listening!”

“No you weren't,” Hiro chided him gently. “You were daydreaming again.”

Shuichi grinned sheepishly. “Ah… Well… Um… But I'm listening now! What were we talking about again?”

Mr. Sakano groaned. “I've been telling you that a representative from N-G Productions may attend your next concert! Their biggest band just broke up and they're looking for a hot new band to replace them. I've been marketing you to N-G for months now and I think it might finally pay off.”

“N-G Productions?!” Shuichi squeaked. “They're, like, huge! They really want to hear us?”

“Yes!” Mr. Sakano waved his hands. “If we can get signed by N-G, our future's set!”

Hiro frowned slightly. “What do you mean `we' and `our', Sakano-san? Wouldn't they just be signing Shuichi and me?”

“Yes… well…” Mr. Sakano flushed and made a show of straightening his tie. “You see, I told the people at N-G that I would very much like to remain your manager after they signed you and they said, if they did sign you, they would hire me as well to continue managing Bad Luck.”

“I see…” Hiro said slowly. “So it we impress the scout and get a contract from N-G, you get a cushy salaried job as a result?”

Mr. Sakano's flush deepened and he cleared his throat nervously. “I hope you don't mind, but I've always dreamed of working for a company like N-G. It's a place where I can establish a long career as a valuable employee.” He clasped his hands together and his expression turned dreamy. “I've always dreamed of being a salaried employee!”

“Sheesh!” Hiro muttered.

Shuichi clapped Mr. Sakano on the back. “That's great Sakano-san! We'll do our best for you, won't we, Hiro?”

“Ah, sure.”

“Well then,” Mr. Sakano continued with a bright smile. “Have you got your play list ready for the concert tomorrow?”

“We have a concert tomorrow?”

“SHUICHI!!!” Tears sprang into Mr. Sakano's eyes.

“Don't listen to him, Sakano-san,” Hiro laughed. “We're all set. N-G will be so impressed they'll want to sign us up on the spot.”

Mr. Sakano grasped Hiro by the shoulders and hung his head. “Thank you, Nakano-san! I'm so glad one of you is taking this seriously.”

“Hey, I'm taking it seriously!” Shuichi exclaimed. “I've got two new songs to sing and everything!”

“Did you give me the music for those?” Hiro asked innocently.

“It was the score I left on top of your guitar.”

“Oh. I might have used that to blow my nose.”

“That could be a problem.”

Mr. Sakano listened to this exchange with his eyes getting rounder and rounder. “Please tell me you're joking!” he finally exploded.

Hiro and Shuichi began to laugh.

“We're just teasing you, Sakano-san,” Hiro assured him. “We've been practicing the new songs for weeks. You've heard us.”

“Oh, that's right.” Mr. Sakano heaved a sigh of relief. “I don't know why you want to put me in an early grave. I can't take this kind of stress.”

“Nonsense!” Shuichi cried cheerfully. He clapped Mr. Sakano on the back hard enough to send him stumbling forward a few steps. “You're tough.”

Mr. Sakano coughed weakly. “Right. Why don't you start rehearsing?”

“Good idea!” Shuichi started singing on the spot, his rich voice filling the room with sound.

-o-o-o-o-

Shuichi peeked around the edge of the curtain to get a glimpse of the auditorium. His eyes went round at the sight of the packed house. He ducked back behind the curtain with an excited squeal. “Oh man, Hiro! Did you see how many people are out there? I can't tell if the N-G scout is here or not! They're standing shoulder to shoulder!”

“Sakano-san said she was,” Hiro replied calmly. “And he also said the tickets sold out.” Hiro's eyes sparkled. “We're too small of a band for scalpers to be speculating on tickets for our concert, so that means all twenty-five hundred people will be out there, screaming your name.”

Shuichi flushed with excitement. “This is so cool! I can't wait to get out there! I just want to bask in all that positive energy.”

“Five minutes, Bad Luck.” The technician walked by without even looking at them, the instruction sounding like an afterthought.

Hiro chuckled. “I bet he won't be so casual about talking to us once we sign with N-G.”

“That's right!” Shuichi agreed immediately. He bounced up and down on his toes. “I'm ready to go! I want to sing!”

“That's the spirit!” Mr. Sakano exclaimed. He appeared behind them, his glasses reflecting the house lights. “Ms. Wakabe from N-G is in the third row, Shuichi, but don't try to look for her. Just give your usual sparkling performance.”

“You know me, Sakano-san!” Shuichi kept bouncing up and down. “I love performing. Let's go! Let's go!”

The house lights went down, the stage lights went up and the crowd began to cheer. The technician reappeared. “Ok Bad Luck. In three, two, one…” He counted the numbers down with his fingers as well and pointed to the stage when he got to one.

Shuichi bounded onto the stage, waving furiously. “Hello everyone!” The crowd roared in response. He bounded to the center of the stage, where his keyboard and the microphone waited. “I'm Shuichi Shindou and we're Bad Luck!” The crowd roared again as Hiro strolled onto the stage more casually. He picked up his guitar and strummed the opening chords of their first song. Shuichi pointed at him. “This is Hiro Nakano, genius guitarist! We have some fantastic songs to play for you tonight. Are you ready to have a good time?” A thunderous “Yes!” roared back at him. “Ok then! Let's go!”

Shuichi began to play the first song. The entire first set was upbeat, hard-charging songs that had the audience dancing and clapping along. Shuichi forgot all about Ms. Wakabe as he sang. Once he started performing, everything else dropped away and his connection with the audience filled him. They finished the first set to thunderous applause.

“That was great!” Mr. Sakano exclaimed when they returned to their dressing room for the break. “I'm sure Ms. Wakabe was very impressed.”

“Is she going to come backstage?” Hiro asked.

“Maybe after the concert.” Mr. Sakano blinked worriedly at Shuichi. “You'll be on your best behavior if she does come, right? We can't afford to upset Ms. Wakabe. If she loses interest in us, it would be all over with N-G.”

“Don't worry, Sakano-san. I've wanted to be a rock star since I was a little kid. I won't blow this opportunity.”

“Oh, good.” Mr. Sakano didn't sound completely reassured.

When they returned to the stage for the second set, Shuichi waited until the cheering died down before leaning close to the mic. “Hello again. We're back and ready to soothe your spirits with a quiet little number. This is a new song that is sure to touch the heart of everyone who has had to spend time away from a lover. It's called Looking Forward.” He played the opening notes of the melody, which floated out over the hushed listeners like motes on the breeze.

On long afternoons when the wind's blowing gently,

I hear your voice sigh through the trees.

If I close my eyes and listen quite closely,

I hear my name called on the breeze.

I lie in the grass and stare up through the branches.

The sunlight makes spots on my face.

I can remember you holding my hand

The last time I lay in this place.

The days pass by quickly but nights are so long.

I wish that I could be with you.

The paths that we walk follow different courses.

The times when they cross are too few.

I long for the day when our roads join together.

On that day my dreams will come true.

When we walk side-by-side to our future together,

I will shout to the sky “I love you!”

A walk in the park soothes the spirit, they say.

Mother Nature can open your soul.

The natural world gives you strength to endure.

But for me it can play no such role.

There is only one thing that recovers my spirit;

Only one thing that lets me fly free.

When I stand face-to-face with the person I love

And I know that this person loves me.

The days pass by quickly but nights are so long.

I wish that I could be with you.

The paths that we walk follow different courses.

The times when they cross are too few.

I long for the day when our roads join together.

On that day my dreams will come true.

When we walk side-by-side to our future together,

I will shout to the sky “I love you!”

As the last plaintive notes of the song faded, applause filled the auditorium. Shuichi threw Hiro a happy grin. He was always a little nervous the first time he played a new song and it was uplifting when the audience enjoyed it. He started the next song as the applause died down. He would be happy to keep singing until he dropped from exhaustion. Shuichi loved being on stage; loved the feedback from the audience. It energized him and kept him going. The only thing that could have made it better was if Yuki had been there too. But Yuki hadn't been to one of his concerts for a long time. It seemed like the more popular Shuichi became, the less time Yuki had for him. If Shuichi hadn't been so busy, it would have bothered him more, but between practice and rehearsal, and then the concerts themselves, he didn't really have the time to worry about it. They had a date to see each other the next weekend, after nearly a month apart, but Shuichi had plenty to keep himself busy until then.

After the concert, Mr. Sakano burst into their dressing room with a huge grin on his face. “Ms. Wakabe wants to see us in her office at N-G tomorrow morning at ten!” he announced dramatically. “She said she wants to discuss a contract and putting out a first single within the next few months! Can you believe it?”

Shuichi jumped to his feet and flung his arms around Mr. Sakano's neck. “That's fantastic! A contract and a single! Yippee!”

Mr. Sakano's face starting turning purple and he tugged weakly at Shuichi's arms.

“Uh, Shuichi?” Hiro said. “I think you're choking Sakano-san.”

“Oops!” Shuichi quickly released him and Mr. Sakano doubled over, gasping for breath. “Sorry!”

Mr. Sakano waved a hand. “It's ok,” he wheezed. He looked up at them with watering eyes. “Please be on time tomorrow. You know the address of N-G's headquarters?”

“I do,” Hiro assured him. “I'll make sure Shuichi gets there on time.”

“Thank you.”

Shuichi handed Mr. Sakano a bottle of water. “Thanks for doing such a great job as our manager, Sakano-san. You deserve to be a salaried employee.”

Mr. Sakano accepted the water and the praise with a wide smile, but his eyes were still watering. It might have been tears of joy.

-o-o-o-o-

The three of them met outside the N-G building right on time the following morning. It was Friday and the street was bustling with activity. Nevertheless, they stood right in the middle of the sidewalk and stared up at the towering N-G building with their mouths hanging open.

“That is one impressive building,” Hiro noted.

“That's a lot of glass,” Shuichi agreed. “It's kind of pretty, the way it reflects the sky.”

“Come on!” Mr. Sakano urged. “Let's go. I don't want to keep Wakabe-sama waiting.” They entered the building and checked the enormous directory on the wall near the elevators. “Here she is on the thirty-ninth floor. It says we should take the express elevator.”

They had the express elevator to themselves. As the doors closed, Hiro glanced at Shuichi.

“Shuichi, you better put your feet under the rail when we stop this time. Remember what happened the last time we took an express elevator.”

Shuichi grinned and scratched the back of his head. “Oh that! That hardly hurt at all.”

“Nevertheless…”

Shuichi nudged up against the railing as the elevator started to rise. It quickly accelerated to full speed and they all felt their stomachs sink. The numbers flickered rapidly as they zipped past thirty floors without slowing. As they passed floor 31, the elevator began to slow rapidly and their feet lifted up against the toe rails. Their feet settled back to the floor as the elevator glided to a halt with the digital display showing floor 39. The door slid open to reveal a pretty young woman in an attractive gray suit waiting for them. She bowed politely.

“Are you Sakano-san and the band Bad Luck?”

“Yes we are.” Mr. Sakano returned her bow.

“Please follow me.”

She led them down the hall, around a corner, down another long hall and around another corner before stopping outside a wide double door. She knocked on the door and opened it right away, then stepped back with another bow. Mr. Sakano led the way into the office. It was huge. The entire rear wall of the office was glass, giving a magnificent view of the city. A large desk and chair sat in the center of the office near the window. On the left side, a large screen television stood against the wall with a large couch in front of it. On the right there was a good-sized conference table with eight chairs. An attractive woman of about thirty-five was seated behind the desk. She rose as they entered.

“Thank you for coming, Sakano-san. Please be seated.” She indicated three chairs situated in a neat row in front of her desk. She resumed her seat as they sat down. “I was very pleased by your performance yesterday, Shindou-san. You have wonderful stage presence.”

Shuichi beamed. “Thank you, Wakabe-sama! I'm very glad you enjoyed our concert.”

She turned to Hiro. “I must say you really are a genius guitarist, Nakano-san. You are very skilled.”

“Thank you.”

She sat back with a smile. “I think your band would be a valuable addition to the N-G label. I think you have the potential to go very far.” She tapped a stack of pages on her desk. “I have here a standard contract. It stipulates that N-G Productions will take over all production and scheduling of Bad Luck's appearances and music. We will provide studio facilities, rehearsal space, whatever you need, as well as promoting and advertising the band. Sakano-san would continue as your manager, working as an N-G employee.” She pushed the contract across the desk. “I think you will find the terms beneficial.”

Mr. Sakano picked up the contract and glanced through it. He paused as something caught his eye. “One moment, Wakabe-sama. It says here that N-G would also have the right to make changes in the band's composition. What does that mean?”

“It's a standard clause,” Ms. Wakabe said casually. “But in the case of Bad Luck, it means adding another band member.”

“Another member?” Shuichi exclaimed immediately. “Why? Hiro and I work great together.” He frowned. He didn't like the idea of someone else coming between him and Hiro.

Ms. Wakabe smiled disarmingly. “I don't want to disrupt the dynamic between you, of course. That would not be in N-G's best interest. However, I think it would help Bad Luck's stage performance. You are a very energetic singer, Shindou-san, but being behind the keyboard limits how much you can move around. I think adding a keyboard player would give you more freedom to move closer to the audience while you sing.”

Shuichi started to protest, but Hiro put a hand on his. “I think what Wakabe-sama says makes sense, Shuichi. Audiences love it when a singer comes right up to the edge of the stage and looks into their eyes.”

“I guess so,” Shuichi muttered reluctantly.

“Did you have someone in mind, Wakabe-sama?” Mr. Sakano asked.

“Yes, I do. He's one of our studio musicians. He's an exceptional keyboard player. I think he'll fit in very well. I'll introduce you to him later, when we tour the studios down on the second and third floors. But before we do that, I would like to discuss which song you think would make a good debut single for Bad Luck.”

-o-o-o-o-o-

Shuichi drummed his fingers on the floor while he waited for Yuki to answer his phone. Stretched out on his futon, he toyed idly with the little ring on the lamp near his head, where Yuki liked to tie his wrists during bondage sex. Thinking about sex and Yuki at the same time immediately gave him a boner.

“Damn!” Shuichi muttered. He rubbed the front of his cargo shorts absently.

“Hey, Shuichi.”

Shuichi sat up. “It's about time you answered. I've called you a dozen times already.”

“I know. I was in a lecture, so I had the phone in silent mode.”

“Oh.” It made Shuichi feel better thinking that Yuki had not just been ignoring him. “What were you doing in a lecture so late?”

“It was a makeup class.”

“Oh. Guess what?”

“What?”

“We got signed!” Shuichi crowed into the phone.

“Dammit! Don't shout in my ear like that!”

“Sorry!” Shuichi couldn't help giggling. He could imagine Yuki switching hands so he could protect the offended ear. “We signed a contract with N-G today. They're going to promote Bad Luck! We start work on a single of one of my new songs on Monday. The producer, Ms. Wakabe, liked my new song Looking Forward, so we're going to make a single of that. After that, we'll make an album with that single and ten or eleven other songs.” Shuichi held the phone away from his mouth so he could shout again. “I'm going to have an album, Yuki! Are you proud of me?”

“Yeah, I'm proud of you, Shuichi. You've worked really hard.”

“Thanks!” Shuichi giggled again. “I wish you could be here. I got all hard waiting for you to answer the phone.”

“Where are you?”

“In my bedroom.” Shuichi lay back down. “I'm lying on my bed imagining you tying my wrists to the wall so I can't resist you.” He slipped his hand down inside his shorts. “I'm not wearing any underwear.”

There was a long pause. “Where is your hand right now?”

“Holding the phone,” Shuichi panted.

“What about the other hand?”

“Oh, that one.” Shuichi writhed as he stroked himself. “It's misbehaving.” Shuichi closed his eyes with a soft moan.

“How are you doing it?”

“I still have my shorts on. I put my hand inside and I'm pulling on it.”

“Are you using any lube?”

“No.”

“Then stop right now. Take your shorts off and get the lube. Tell me when you're ready.”

Shuichi turned on the speaker, put the phone down and did as he was instructed. He took his shirt off as well. “Ok. I'm completely naked now and I have the lube.”

“Very good. Put a drop of lube on the tip of your finger and rub it on your right nipple. Keep doing it until I tell you to stop.”

Shuichi squeezed a pearl-size drop of lube onto his left index finger and proceeded to rub it into his right nipple. The sensation was delicious, like getting firmly licked. His cock got harder and he started panting again.

“How does it feel?”

“Wonderful!”

“Close your eyes and imagine it's my tongue.”

Shuichi groaned. His imagination was very good. “I'm getting so hard!”

“Are you leaking?”

“Yeah.”

“Wipe it off with your finger and put it in your mouth.”

“Mmm…”

“Slide your finger in and out of your mouth and rub the tip of your cock at the same time.”

Shuichi did so, moaning around his finger. His imagination was trying to convince him that it was Yuki doing these things, since he could hear his voice while the delightful stimulation was happening.

“Can you reach the dildo I gave you?”

“Yes.”

“Good. I want you to lick it to get it wet. Don't use the lube. Run your tongue up the sides in long, slow strokes. Lick all the way around it slowly and then slide the whole thing into your mouth.” Yuki paused. “Get it all the way in. Suck the whole thing.”

Shuichi followed Yuki's instructions with his eyes closed. Now his imagination was doing its best to convince him that it was Yuki's cock in his hand and not a rubber dildo. He held it in one hand and leaned over it, working his mouth on it until saliva was running down the sides.

“It's really wet now.”

“All right. Get on your knees and lean against the wall. Tell me when you're ready.”

“I'm ready.”

“Ok, stick the dildo in. Make sure you get it in all the way.”

Shuichi moaned as he complied. His legs quivered as he worked the dildo into himself. “It's in.”

“Squirt some lube into your left hand. Start jerking your cock with that hand and work the dildo with the other. Let me hear you enjoy it, but don't come until I say so.”

Shuichi rested his head against the wall as he grasped his cock with one hand and the dildo with the other. He didn't need Yuki's instruction to make noise while he masturbated. As far as his body was concerned, it was Yuki's cock ramming into him, not a rubber dildo. “Ah! Ah! Yuki! Yes! It feels so good! Yes! Ah!”

“Slow down. Don't come yet.” Yuki's voice sounded hoarse. For a moment, Shuichi thought he could hear Yuki panting. “Ok. Go faster now. Really ram yourself.”

Shuichi gasped with pleasure as he worked the dildo in and out as fast as he could. His left hand worked on auto-pilot, jerking his cock briskly. Orgasm erupted. “AAHHH!!” He slumped over on the bed, gasping and shaking helplessly as his cum pumped out in a powerful stream. “Oh, Yuki! That was so good!”

“Yeah,” Yuki agreed. He sounded breathless. “Now you should take a shower and go to bed. It's late.”

“I will.” Shuichi cradled the phone close to his mouth. “You're still coming to see me next weekend, right?”

“I'll be there.”

“I love you, Yuki.”

“I love you, too, Shuichi.”