Type: Novel Translation
Title: Back Stage!!, Vol. 02
Series: Love Stage!!
Author/Circle: Eiki Eiki, Amano Kazuki
Rating: PG
Language: English
This time: Rei meets the other CRUSHERZ members…who already know all about him!
Feel free to check out the book in-progress on Pressbooks!
Chapter 4 (cont.)
“You want Shougo’s contact information?”
“Yes.”
The next morning, after arriving at the SenaPro offices in the Sena family home as usual, Rei took it upon himself to immediately ask Seiya, who was enjoying a relaxing breakfast, for some way of contacting Shougo. Nagisa and Izumi were nowhere to be seen—likely still fast asleep.
“Well, I know his cell phone number and e-mail address…but that’s assuming he hasn’t changed them.” With this, he slipped his cell phone from his pocket and began flipping through the address book. “But why are you bringing up Shougo all of a sudden?”
It was hardly surprising he’d be a bit suspicious of Rei’s intentions. “…Actually, yesterday, I went to a concert for an indies band called the CRUSHERZ…” Rei began, relating the entire tale to Seiya who listened with curious interest. He told Seiya all about how they’d sold out the entire Budokan arena despite not having even debuted properly yet, about what an amazing concert it had been, and how Shougo had been singing lead vocals—but he couldn’t bring himself to admit how Shougo had run away from him, instead bluffing that he’d been stopped at the door by staff members and unable to see him.
“Wow, so Shougo, huh…” Seiya seemed shocked, but an air of happiness brought out a smile on his features. “I see…well that’s great news indeed!” No one had been happier than Seiya both when Shougo had left home and when he’d vowed to become a singer, so Rei had known that he’d be thrilled to hear about Shougo’s current activities. “This really is great—if he signs on with SenaPro, then we’re all set!”
“Indeed. I’ll get him here if I have to drag him!” Seeing how excited Seiya was at the prospect, Rei resolved to do whatever it took to get Shougo to sign a contract with SenaPro.
…However…
After clearing some time in the afternoon, Rei sat at his desk alone, simply staring at the line of digits that represented Shougo’s contact information.
“Should I…call him? Or maybe text him first to feel him out?” Images of Shougo’s expression from the day before when he’d caught sight of Rei flashed in the back on his mind. Given his behavior, Rei couldn’t expect any sort of immediate response, he reasoned, and an attempt to get close too quickly would only result in Shougo fleeing again. “Which means…a text message it is.” With his decision made, he quickly tapped out a message, and after a bit of hesitation, he opted for the same level of formality he would have used with any other artist.
He’d send this message and wait a bit to see how things panned out. If he didn’t receive a response in the next few days, then he’d try again via phone—
—but only moments after sending the message, his phone vibrated, and Rei quickly scrambled to check the sender: Shougo, the person he’d only just texted. His heart gave a thudding leap in his chest as he opened the message—but the contents were rather succinct.
/I’m sorry about yesterday. I’ll be in Studio NEO all day today./
“What…does this mean?” His thoughts began swirling in confusion once again. He’d written I’m sorry about yesterday, but…what exactly was he sorry for? The simplest conclusion was that he was apologizing for running away, but then that meant… “…He had some reason for running away from me…?”
No no no, he could just as easily be apologizing for being so rude to someone he knew relatively well. There was no way of telling what kind of meaning might truly be implied by such a short message—but if there had been some reason Shougo had run away from him before…
And then there was the fact that he’d mentioned being in Studio NEO the whole day—which most would assume to mean it was all right for Rei to come by. So yesterday he’d run away with that strange expression on his face—and today he was telling Rei to come see him?
He couldn’t begin to fathom what sort of shift had occurred in Shougo’s mental state, but at the very least, if he’d truly found Rei annoying now or hadn’t wanted to see him anymore…he wouldn’t write something like this, right?
’So maybe…Shougo does still care about me…?’ For some reason, the moment that thought sprouted in his mind, he felt a warmth rush through his body as his temperature rose. Naturally, though, while that possibility existed, there was no way to know for sure…
“There’s no point in worrying aimlessly over this!” he reminded himself, then snapped to his feet. No matter how long he sat and stared at his phone, the message was never going to change. It was better to act than to sit around fretting. “First things first: I’ll go start up negotiations as a member of SenaPro!” And with that, he hurried from the offices and headed straight for Shougo’s studio.
On arriving at the Studio NEO rehearsal space, he asked for the CRUSHERZ room number and then headed into the studio proper.
“So…this is it?” He drew to a stop before the door leading into the room and peered inside through the small window. They didn’t seem to be in the middle of rehearsal, and while Shougo was nowhere to be seen, this was indeed the room he’d been directed to at the reception desk.
With a deep breath, he steeled himself and stepped through the door. “Umm…”
At his entrance, every eye in the room, swiveled to face him, and Rei quailed a bit under so much attention, running his gaze around the room searching desperately for Shougo’s form. But he wasn’t here—however…
“I…I heard that Shougo was here…?”
“AH!” As soon as Rei spoke, the two young men who’d been lounging on the sofa sprang to their feet. “You’re Rei-san aren’t you??”
Rei’s eyes flared wide in shock at having his name spoken, and caught up in the flow of conversation, he nodded. “Y—yes, I am…?”
“I knew it!!”
“Ooh, yeah he’s a total hottie, for a guy!”
The pair drew close, peering into his face in deep consideration, as if he were some rare animal they’d stumbled upon.
“Uh…” Rei stared at them blankly, thrown off by their enthusiasm initially, until he began to get the feeling that he’d seen them somewhere before. “Ah—you two were playing the guitars yesterday…”
“Yup!”
It wasn’t quite the same, seeing them here, as on stage, so he hadn’t realized immediately, but there was no mistaking it: these were the other two CRUSHERZ members. But…how did they know him? Naturally, Shougo was their only point in common, but so he had to have said something…
And now he was starting to get a very bad feeling.
“I’m the guitarist, Haru! Though I’m going by ‘H’ for now.” Haru flashed him a friendly grin, his features slender and beautiful. His long hair had been pulled up into a tight tail, likely because he was in off-mode right now.
“And I’m the other guitarist, Rinpei—the one they call ‘R’!” Rinpei’s short-cropped, spiky hair was bleached blond, giving him a decidedly ‘rock’-ish air, and despite being inside the studio, he wore sunglasses even now.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you; I’m Sagara Rei, of SenaPro.” These men were a far cry from what he’d expected of members of a band rooted in such mystery, but despite any internal misgivings he might have had about the friendly pair, he still passed them his business card.
They took the proffered cards but didn’t stop their babbling. “Y’know, Shougo-kun goes on about you aaaaaall the time!”
“Yup yup! Talking about how he’s gonna sell a million albums just for you, how he’s gonna make it big just for you!”
“Uuh…” At a loss at to how he ought to receive the rapid-fire comments from Haru and Rinpei, he pasted on a forced, pained smile. ’For me…? Did he just decide it’d be no big deal to COME OUT to these two?!’ He’d never expected to be spoken of in such an embarrassing manner. Thankfully, Haru and Rinpei seemed to have taken Shougo’s comments as positive, but wouldn’t most band members who heard that their lead singer was working hard to fulfill his dream of being in a homosexual relationship feel at least a little uncomfortable?
The pair continued to speak while Rei worried internally. “Then yesterday, he just panicked and rabbited—and afterward he kept whining about what he was gonna do if you got the wrong idea.”
“And we told him he oughta just snap out of it and call you to fix it.” They smiled long-sufferingly, and Rei kept his lips pursed into a firm line—worried that they might otherwise relax into a relieved smile.
’So then…he wasn’t fed up with me…?’ But he quickly shook his head to rid himself of these thoughts. This was nothing to feel relieved over—after all, it didn’t matter.
But immediately on the heels of this realization came the conclusion that, if Shougo was still in love with him…then getting the CRUSHERZ to sign on with SenaPro ought to prove an easy feat. Now that was something worth being relieved about!
And that was when the studio door opened again—and Shougo stepped through. “Rei!” The moment his eyes fell on Rei, his expression brightened, and Rei felt warmth blossom in his chest at his attitude, which made it blatantly obvious to any onlookers that Shougo felt affection for him, no matter what sort of ‘affection’ that might be. On realizing this, though, Rei immediately felt embarrassed by his reaction.
This just made Shougo’s behavior the previous day all the stranger.
“So you came! Sorry~ Had to take a toilet break.”
At the very least, it didn’t seem as if his reaction the previous day had been his true feelings and his attitude now a lie. Shougo grinned brightly, though clearly a bit wired and unable to keep calm for some reason—and this air was catching, as Rei found himself unable to relax as well.
He’d come here with the sole intention of forging a bond with the CRUSHERZ, but when he stopped to think about it, they’d only seen each other in passing the previous evening—this was their first time speaking to one another properly in three years. They hadn’t parted on the best of terms either, in Rei’s opinion, and he still felt some lingering awkwardness.
But the more he thought about it, the harder it became to figure out just how he ought to react in this situation.
“Why don’t you two head out for a cup of tea, since he’s come all the way here?” Haru suggested, tossing a lifeboat to the pair as they stood before each other in silence, and the awkward atmosphere dissipated a fraction.
“Eh? But—are you sure it’s all right for me to sneak off?” Shougo asked worriedly.
“Sure it’s….definitely not fine! But it’s been forever, and you two probably have a lot of catching up to do, right?” Haru allowed with a wry grin. “And if you let Rei-san just leave like this, you’ll be so worried you won’t be able to focus on the recording anyway, right?”
“He’s right, Shougo-san!” Rinpei rejoined, offering his support for Haru’s suggestion.
“I see…then—sorry! I’ll try and get back ASAP!” he thanked them happily, before whirling around to face Rei. “Well, shall we?” Shougo suggested, smiling a bit bashfully, and at a loss for words, Rei simply nodded.