Chapter Text
Haruki
Late summer.
The season of light yukatas, beach trips, and romantic fireworks was finally drawing to a close. Arcades were now less populated with youths after school hours as students crammed to finish last-minute homework they had left undone during summer break. It was a humid 9 p.m. at Yumeri-ya's, a friendly pub where less popular izakayas lined the labyrinth of alleys in the neighborhood of Hachidori. After receiving a message during his substitute shift at Suzuran Café, Nakayama Haruki headed straight for the train station to arrive at a laid-back district for a meet-up at the particular drinking spot.
Yumeri-ya was unusually crowded, but Haruki didn't mind. He had a heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach when he found his friend settled at a table scrolling through his phone with knitted brows. Haruki thought the lively atmosphere could help balance the seemingly dark contrast of his friend's foreboding energy.
After the second round of beer, Haruki's close upperclassman Yatake Kouji looked like he was in the middle of a quarter-life crisis as he waited for the alcohol to numb his cacophony of emotions. Somewhere outside, a nearby karaoke bar was playing a '90s super sentai song being sung off-tune; the perfect background music to his disarrayed thoughts.
"You don't look that happy," Haruki commented after Yatake explained his situation.
Both of them were tired from work, their shoulders slouched more than they should in front of their chilled drinks and food platters. It was a daunting task to participate in a famed film festival, and knowing Yatake as an organized and overall cool-headed person, it was moments like these when Haruki didn't mind taking a longer route home to lend an ear for his friend.
The upcoming Zenith Short Film Festival was an annual event where young filmmakers could present their proudest work. With a typical roster of 20-30 titles selected from hundreds of entries, it was a miraculous achievement for aspiring film production students to get a step ahead towards their dreams.
For ages, Haruki had been mentioning that Yatake's aesthetics were already several tiers above amateur level, but his friend still showed apprehension to even join their university's traditional art fair. It wasn't until six months ago that Haruki was an ecstatic fanboy upon discovering Yatake had applied for the lauded festival that he once thought as a pipe dream. At Yatake's job, his enthusiastic boss had instructed him and his fellow interns to submit an entry for the event, just to 'not waste any opportunities'. And now two seasons later, while everyone was buried in their fully-booked schedules, Yatake had recently learned his submission passed the preliminaries by some dumbfounding plot twist by the universe.
"I'm sooooo happy, Haruki," Yatake slurred, trying to pick the garnish off their half-empty meat platter with his chopsticks, but failing. "I'm sooo happy I want to die."
"They didn't select your work at random, Take-chan. Have more faith?" Haruki watched him fondly, secretly enjoying a cute whiny side to his typically composed friend.
Now that Yatake's pitch work was included for Zenith, he had the rest of the season to polish his short film. The final result would be viewed at the event itself, to be appreciated by students, enthusiasts, critics, and professionals alike. Haruki would be kidding himself if he were to tell Yatake that there was no pressure at all.
Haruki had watched plenty of his friends' projects over the past years, along with other pieces by his senpais and fellow students. Whether it was a weird instinct or magic intervention, Haruki could pick out Yatake's work even without waiting for the ending credits to roll in. The clever use of camera tricks and angles, the artful play of symmetry and asymmetry of subjects, straight-forward style of visual effects, seamless editing, and of course, the impeccable choices of sound and music; Haruki's first reaction was 'Finally! FINALLY!' now that his friend was taking part in the famous film event. A mix of excitement and relief happily bubbled in Haruki's system like opening a fresh bottle of soda, knowing that new people could see things in the mundane world through Yatake Kouji's aesthetically mesmerizing point of view.
"For a guy who wants to die, I can still see the cogs in your head turning," Haruki said knowingly before taking a bite of his own food. "You always come up with ideas fast."
A bitter expression formed on Yatake's face, gripping his beer glass like he wanted to break it with his bare hands. "I just submitted for the first deadline last week. And now I just need to look for my missing brain at the moment, thank you very much?!"
Haruki lightly chuckled, discovering he had guessed right. He set down his chopsticks methodically and folded his hands expectantly with a teasing grin. "Would thy comrade be in need of some aid from the cheerleading cavalry?"
Yatake playfully slapped Haruki's arm, and the other pretended to be in pain. "I just need to get the last half done by early next month so I can fit the post-production stuff by late September. And I still need two people for the reminisce scenes, especially a reliable leading lady!" he groaned.
"Heeeh, none at the theatre department to your liking?"
"The ones I asked were already booked, and the freshmen who approached were too er, baby-faced?…" Yatake paused, self-checking if he was still explaining things while sober. "N-Not that it's a bad thing, but I don't want to settle with just a random pick. Someone with a more… mature face?" He made weird shapes with hands, like trying to form the right words from thin air. "Somewhat stern at first glance, but actually has a nice personality… preferably with long hair for some wind drama."
Haruki couldn’t help give an unimpressed look. He pretended to contemplate deeply on the 'serious' dilemma for five seconds that already had an obvious answer. "You mean your girlfriend."
It took all of Yatake's willpower not to choke on his drink as a rare blush appeared on his face instantly.
"Huh? EH? EHHH?" Haruki looked at him, wide-eyed and confused. "BUT WHY."
"Because!" Yatake exclaimed defensively before he could think straight.
Haruki just stared back and blinked.
"Because it's going to be like a heart attack every time I look at her through the camera."
Haruki couldn't help cover his grinning mouth, lest he burst into loud peals of laughter. "Wait, wait. This is too adorable, I can't believe it," he fanboy-ed for his friend, fanning his face with his other hand while trying hard not to squee.
Yatake didn't even bother hiding his flushed face anymore, his facial expression in a sarcastic 'Oh I'm not embarrassed. This is just the booze.'
"You said it yourself, you don't want to scout randomly for this one. Yayoi's already used to being in front of the camera since you've filmed her before, and she fits the description already," Haruki reasoned, resting his chin on his hand. "She'll take it as seriously as you do, especially when she knows how important this is for you."
Haruki knew his suggestion was bordering to cross a particular line, and wouldn't be surprised if his upperclassman would opt for another choice. There was an unspoken rule before for Yatake and his past girlfriends not to mix work and love life. But after observing the chemistry between Yatake and his current girlfriend for the past months, Haruki had been noticing not-so-hidden hints that his friend was slowly learning to revise his own rules. If there was any more support he could supply for Yatake and his new project, Uenoyama Yayoi was the best crazy answer.
"Aaaargh, I am digging my own grave tonight," Yatake deflated while sinking in his seat.
Haruki placed the last grilled meat on the other's plate, attempting to hide a giddy smile. "After Zenith."
"You know…" Yatake added as an after-thought. "If Yayoi is going to lead, she's going to need a partner she can work well with." He took his last bite of food contentedly, eyeing Haruki carefully with a sly grin. "Would be great if it's someone she already knows."
Haruki looked at him curiously with a small tilt of his head. "I see. Oookay?"
"The person needs to have a musical inclination, so someone who can play an instrument well. Ideally tall, badass-looking, with a similar face value with Yayoi," Yatake elaborated while Haruki made small nods to better absorb the information. "For example, someone who could play the violin?"
Haruki's heart skipped a beat and the tips of his ears suddenly felt warm as he finally realized who Yatake had in mind.
***
Akihiko
A few days later.
"Uenoyama-kun, you're going to have a permanent face like that one day," Sato Mafuyu paused mid-strum on his red Gibson while sitting on the floor, his left hand adjusting and re-adjusting along the guitar's fretboard to master shifting between four chords in rapid succession.
Beside him was Uenoyama Ritsuka who had been concentrating on arranging a new part for the bridge of their new song with his custom black telecaster.
"Something's still missing," he muttered to himself in frustration.
"Uecchi, you're overthinking again," Haruki said worriedly while doing a left-arm stretch. He glanced at his black G-Shock to take note of the time, knowing the two schoolboys had a strict curfew of 10 p.m. "Let's polish up the second stanza up to the chorus then? Mafuyu can work on his timing right before the riff. Then we can wrap up tonight since you and Mafuyu have mid-terms coming up."
Ritsuka's face soured at the word. 'Mid-terms'. "I'll have the bridge penned down by next practice," he said apologetically with a bow. "I already had a tune in my head before, but now there's this new one that I want to try… or maybe even combine with the first one…"
Haruki feigned a gasp. "An indecisive Ue-sama? What is this? Mafuyu, did we just enter another dimension?"
"Hmm…" Mafuyu contemplated as though the answer was written on the studio ceiling. "Uenoyama-kun did seem distracted after we had dinner."
"Am not!" Ristuka intervened. "I just have a lot of ideas? At the moment? I think."
'Inspired or distracted?' Kaji Akihiko thought. There he sat comfortably behind his drum set, idly watching his fellow band members exchange some light banter. It was around two hours earlier when the four-member band had a rare early dinner at the Shimokitazawa shopping district by Mafuyu's suggestion. They had passed by a young duo of street musicians playing at an open plaza before heading to the studio, and Akihiko noticed Ritsuka linger to watch them a bit before nearly missing the pedestrian light to cross the street. It was a catchy melody, Akihiko admitted, given the small crowd of passers-by that had paused to enjoy the light-hearted music with smiles of pleasant fascination. Uenoyama was usually focused when it came to brainstorming ideas, and being thrown off-kilter was rather new for everyone. Akihiko made sure to keep a mental note on their youngest member of the band.
"It's 8:40 p.m. now," Mafuyu's voice snapped Akihiko out of his musing.
"EH! No way!"
"Still enough for a few more rounds, yeah?" Haruki stretched his arms overhead and arched his back with a soft gratifying sigh. The hem of his low-neck shirt hiked up inevitably but didn't reach high enough to reveal any skin underneath. Akihiko felt like swallowing his own shoe afterward; dirt, gravel, and everything. 'Speaking of distractions…'
At 9 p.m., the fledgling band wrapped up for the night, slinging their gear on their backs and ready to head home. The night was still young for Akihiko, still adjusting to his less occupied schedule than having various "evening jobs" on-call like before. It was a new revelation that he could allow himself to feel "less burdened" nowadays, spending time doing what he was passionate about. Spending time with people who appreciated him in return. Spending time with someone he loved and genuinely loved him back, no strings attached.
While waiting at the elevator, an unknown upperclassman called out to Haruki, who reciprocated the unexpected reaction.
"Ohh, senpai!"
Akihiko, Ritsuka, and Mafuyu all glanced at the anonymous man curiously.
"Just a quick chat, guys. I'll catch up in a bit!" Haruki said as he met with his senior colleague lounging at the bar counter with another band.
It wasn't new for Akihiko, or even for the two schoolboys for that matter, when random people call for Haruki's attention. Out of the four of them, Haruki had the most helpful social connections regarding their music pursuit as Given. Their first gig, their CAC application (which the latter three forgot), the opening act stint, even their current pre-debut status was thanks to Haruki's connection with another acquaintance. It was really a no-brainer to pick him as the bandleader; just one of the many respectable aspects of Nakayama Haruki that Akihiko had grown seriously in love with. One of the many aspects that Akihiko wanted to meet half-way with Haruki, which he knew he still had more to work on at his end.
***
Mafuyu
Current lobby, Rinky Dink Studio.
A light ding.
"Ue, the doors are open," Akihiko pointed to the elevator. Mafuyu noticed Ritsuka was lingering a bit again. Maybe about their mid-terms? He thought it was too early to make any conclusions, but a gut feeling gave him a wild hunch. He tugged at Ritsuka's shirt to guide him towards the elevator, earning a shy but hilarious yelp from the other teenager.
The evening breeze still had a faint scent of summer, barely cool enough to officially welcome a new season until the autumn equinox. Mafuyu was looking forward to wearing his favorite sweaters again when the weather finally begins to change to a milder temperature. He realized another season was ending and soon enough, all the leaves will fall. Another cold winter was approaching, but this time there was less melancholy in his heart and actually looking forward to what the following months had in store for Given.
"Crap, I haven't started on my world lit. composition yet and Itaya texted it's due tomorrow?! What the hell!" Ritsuka whined as they walked along the Shimokitazawa shopping street towards the train station. "Meh, I'll just copy from Ueki again."
Mafuyu shot him a disagreeing look. "We made a deal, remember?"
Sometimes it still felt surreal that he was in a band slated for an indie debut. But knowing that they were still finishing high school, it was a delicate predicament for them that Haruki and Akihiko didn't dare to overlook. After certain arrangements, their scout manager agreed to take things gradually for the band and allow them ample time and space to finish their studies before diving into the nitty-gritty business of things.
Though sometimes he and Ritsuka seemed to forget that the keyword of their golden opportunity was 'graduate'.
"…Right," Ritsuka acquiesced bashfully.
A car was passing by and Mafuyu took initiative to herd Ritsuka to the safer side of the street, an involuntary new habit for him ever since they started dating. "I'll let you copy from mine. We have different lit teachers anyway," he said with an unchanged expression on his face.
Ritsuka gave him a frazzled look. "You serious?"
"I scored higher in the previous finals," Mafuyu replied as-a-matter-of-factly, ignoring his boyfriend's stumped reaction. "Ah, and you bought me lunch thrice this week."
"W-Well, after you guys bought me that birthday gift, I couldn't help it, okay?" A shade of pink-tinted Ritsuka's cheeks.
Ah yes, the gift. The painstakingly searched, saved for, and secretly bought effect pedal that Ritsuka received on his name day courtesy of the joint effort of his three bandmates. It was an ideal model that Ritsuka found back in spring but Mafuyu, Haruki, and Akihiko couldn't find in any second-hand shop. After some prodding by his childhood friend Shizusumi, they were able to purchase the brand new item for a reduced price with the help of (a begrudging) Hiiragi. Though Mafuyu knew he'd have to save his allowance again, Ritsuka's adorable flustered reaction to the gift was definitely worth every yen.
"You've been practicing with it a lot too," Mafuyu said. "The distortment pedal."
"Distortion," Ristuka corrected him fondly, giving Mafuyu's head a gentle pat. "I can't wait to use it live. It feels more satisfying, as odd as it sounds. You're going to have to learn how to get the hang of more than one effect pedal too if we're going to debut. I'll guide you through it."
Mafuyu felt a natural tug at the corner of his lips and a fuzzy warmth that wasn't because of the humid breeze. He gazed at Ritsuka's profile with a content smile and a soft reply.
"Yeah, I'd like that."
Debut. The word rang in Mafuyu's head. Working on new content that night at the studio, Mafuyu had a feeling Ritsuka was attempting to get ahead out of excitement for their new band venture but was more on overwhelming himself than anything else. He noticed how Ritsuka had a faraway look when they were walking to the studio earlier that night, and even by the elevator when they were leaving. Something was muddling Ritsuka's focus recently and the thought continuously ate at Mafuyu's conscience. He recalled how the other teen watched Haruki exchange small pleasantries with another band at the studio lobby that evening and took it as a tricky hint.
"Uenoyama-kun, about working on the new song. Do you want to try something different this time?"