{FANFICTION} Tomorrow's Way (Chapter 1)
TITLE: Tomorrow's Way (Chapter 1)
PAIRING: PiDa (Yamashita Tomohisa/Ueda Tatsuya). Some RyoDa and maybe Akame in later chapters.
RATING: PG
SUMMARY: Ueda Tatsuya was nothing. Nothing, until Yamashita Tomohisa helped him fit in. He found him a band; he found him friends. This is the story of their rise to the top - the music, the troubles faced, the bonds formed.
GENRE: Fluff, maybe a little angst, romance. AU.
DISCLAIMER: Do not own. I don't even own the title - it belongs to YUI.
A/N: First multichapter fic~
A/N 2: Adjectives are still my friends.
A/N 3: My cat [Koki] managed to flip off half of the keys to my keyboard, and the only one I was unable to snap (read: force) into place was the "i". I apologise if there are a few "i"'s missing...
It was a slow song. Long, unadorned fingers plucked at the strings of a battered old guitar, calling softly for attention among the many passers-by. His voice was soft and raspy, and could barely be heard above the rush of the people around him, but he continued. He continued to tell the story of tomorrow, of dreams, of the future. A broken guitar case lay on the ground next to him, open and hopeful.
Yamashita watched the man play from across the square. He himself sat upon a wooden bench, whilst the other man sat cross-legged on the floor, his back leaning against the cold wall behind him. There was a thin coat around his shoulders, but nothing else to stop the freezing cold. Yamashita looked down at his own padded jacket, which was wrapped around his form, and felt a twinge of sympathy for the man.
Every Thursday, during his break, Yamashita would come down to this square in the middle of the city, to eat his store-bought lunch and watch this man play. He didn't know what it was about him - something hidden in his wispy voice; some sort of raw emotion in the songs he sung. Yamashita watched as he finished his song, oblivious of the look he was giving him, and stood up. Holding his guitar in one hand, he tried to bend down to close the case, but something happened and suddenly he pitched forward, sending the money inside the case rolling. Yamashita could hear the laughs of the people around him, and could see the redness of the other man's face as he knelt down to collect his hard-earned money.
Yamashita could see how he tried to hide behind his long fringe, and he could see how his hands trembled as they gathered up the rest of the money. Yamashita approached him, shouldering people aside roughly even if they weren't in his way. He squatted down next to him.
The guitarist looked up in shock as another hand came into his view, reaching out to help him. Yamashita smiled gently at him, and carefully placed the collected money into the others' bag. He bowed his head in thanks, but otherwise kept his eyes downcast, still searching with shaking hands.
"You must be freezing," Yamashita said, causing him to meet his eyes, only to look down again. "Here."
Yamashita tugged off the black woollen gloves he wore, and handed them to the other. He shook his head resolutely, but Yamashita had grabbed his hands and forced them into the gloves before he had time to fight back.
The other stared at him for so long, Yamashita began feeling uncomfortable. Suddenly, he tore the gloves off again, and fit them neatly into one of Yamashita's coat pockets, lowering his head again. Yamashita sighed.
"My name's Yamashita Tomohisa."
"...Ueda Tatsuya."
The two silently searched for the man's remaining money, but since it wasn't much to begin with, they finished quickly. The man - Ueda - bowed slightly as he fixed his guitar case about his shoulders, and walked off stiffly. Yamashita could only watch as he suddenly fell forward again, but managed to fling out an arm and catch himself on a wall.
Yamashita found himself next to him in seconds, holding onto his arm.
"Hey, are you alright?" Ueda nodded, and wrenched himself out of Yamashita's grip.
"I'm fine."
"You don't look fine."
Yamashita received a look. "My leg just froze up. I'm fine."
Just as Ueda had collected himself and was about to walk away again, Yamashita called out.
"Hey! Want to grab a coffee?"
Ueda turned around, hands fidgeting with the strap of his guitar case. "What?"
"Coffee. Do you want to go get some?" Yamashita leant against the wall which was now behind him, because he was certain his knees were about to give out.
"No."
Fifteen minutes later, and with a lot of persuading on Yamashita's side, the two found themselves inside a small little coffee shop.
Ueda squirmed in his seat, checking his guitar every few minutes. Yamashita came back soon, carrying a tray with both hands and setting it upon the table. Ueda took his mug silently.
Yamashita sat down, hoping that his lunch break could be extended this long. He watched as Ueda took the mug in both hands, blowing on the steaming liquid and then taking a tentative sip.
As he put the mug down again to let it cool, he looked up at Yamashita hesitantly.
"I can't pay you back."
Yamashita laughed. "I know. Don't worry, it wasn't much anyway."
Ueda focused on his drink again, as Yamashita stirred his own.
"Why do you play on that street every Thursday?"
"Why do you come and watch me on that street, every Thursday?"
Yamashita was taken aback. "...you're peaceful to watch."
Ueda's eyebrows knitted together. "What?"
"I like to listen to your music because you tell a story. All of those big-name celebrities sing about love and parties and sex, but you... you sing with emotion. You sing about stories, about dreams. That's why." Yamashita was sure he looked calmer than he felt.
"Thankyou." Ueda graced him with a small smile. "You're the first one to tell me that. Thankyou."
"Uh...no problem."
They met every Thursday from then on, always at the same coffee shop. Ueda was enjoying himself a bit more, now. He had stopped continuously checking on his guitar, but his eyes would slide across to it every now and then. He was making more eye contact, and smiling. He wasn't sure what to make of this man, but he decided he should just trust him.
"Hey..." Yamashita started, making Ueda look up curiously. "Would you like to be in a band?"
Ueda thought for a long while. "I don't know. Why?"
"Because my best friend is in a band, and is looking for new members."
"Guitar?"
"I think so - hold on, let me call him." Ueda watched as Yamashita dialed some numbers, pressed a few buttons here and there on his phone, and held it to his ear. Ueda tuned out as he began talking to his friend, but then suddenly the phone was being pushed at him and he was forced to take it, wide-eyed.
"Hey - Ueda, was it?" A deep voice spoke out of the speaker of the phone, and he quickly pushed it to his ear.
"Ah...yes."
"Pi said you play guitar. Any good?" the voice asked.
"Um... I don't know?"
"Yes, he is!" Yamashita yelled out from across the table. Ueda flushed red, while the voice on the phone chuckled.
"Pass me to Pi, please."
Ueda cast his eye around. "...Pi?"
Yamashita flapped his arms around, gesturing that he was the 'Pi' the man on the phone was talking about.
"Ah. Sorry." Ueda clumsily handed the phone back to Yamashita, and promptly hid his head in his hands.
Yamashita cast him an amused look as the man on the other end spoke again.
"He doesn't really... say much, does he?" he asked.
Yamashita laughed. "Not really - he's all embarrassed now." Yamashita received an intense glare at that.
"Is he any good?"
"Very good. I don't know if he plays electric...?" Ueda nodded slightly, face buried under his hands. "Apparently he does."
"Cool. Can you bring him around on Saturday?"
"I'll ask," Yamashita covered the lower half of the phone, leaning across the table. "You free on Saturday?" He lifted his head and nodded. "Yeah, he's free."
"Tell him to bring his guitar. Are you coming too?"
"Of course."
The voice on the other end laughed. "Good. You're like our little cheerleader."
"Oh, shut up, Jin," he said, and promptly shut the phone.
"He says to bring your guitar on Saturday, at around ten," Ueda looked up and nodded. Once the two had figured out where to meet each other, they said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.
On that Saturday, Ueda was a nervous wreck. He stood at the corner of the street, once again fidgeting the strap on his guitar case. He had his bag at his feet, and every so often he would kick it lightly just to make sure it hadn't been stolen. He didn't take his eyes off the road (both ways), as he waited for Yamashita to pick him up. It was almost exactly ten o'clock, when a flashy white car hurtled down the street, screeching to a stop in front of him. Yamashita's figure sat behind the wheel, urging him to get inside. Ueda, wide-eyed, opened the door on his side.
"Throw your guitar in the backseat," Yamashita said, and Ueda complied, although much more carefully than Yamashita had suggested.
He slipped into the passenger seat, holding his bag steady between his feet as the car started up again. The interior of the car was uncomfortable, and squeaked whenever he moved. It was incredibly clean, and smelt strange. He looked up at the man driving. Yamashita wore simple clothes today, and he looked different without his business suit - he was wearing simple jeans and a grey shirt, with sunglasses covering his eyes.
"You nervous?" He asked, and Ueda nodded.
"I...I don't...do...too well with people..." he admitted, and turned to watch the trees beside the car blur past.
He heard Yamashita chuckle. "It's okay, you'll be fine."
Ueda wished he had the same confidence.
Once they arrived at the place, which turned out just to be his friends' house, Yamashita grabbed a hold of his guitar and walked right inside without knocking. Ueda, flustered, followed him after a while, muttering a small 'excuse me', as he entered. The house wasn't all that big, and he quickly found Yamashita, who was waiting for him down the hallway.
"We're going to the shed," Yamashita said, and Ueda just cast him a strange look. "That's where they're practicing."
Another knot formed in his stomach, and he reached for his guitar, practically wrenching it out of Yamashita's grasp. He needed to know that it, at least, was there for him.
Yamashita gave him an amused look, and continued on, walking through the kitchen and out into the backyard. A relatively large brick shed stood in one corner, with pieces of crude writings thrown all over it. The unmistakeable sounds of drums and laughter echoed out of it, and Ueda threw another, somewhat panicky, glance at Yamashita.
"Don't worry - I'll come with you," Yamashita said, putting his hand on Ueda's shoulder and steering him over to the 'studio'. He knocked once on the door, and opened it with a wide smile.
There was a large red carpet thrown on the cemented floor. Sheets of numerous sizes and colours hung around the walls, so that the bands' noise wouldn't escape the confines of the shed too much. There were two microphone stands upright in the centre of the mat - one microphone was missing. There were a few second-hand armchairs placed about the room; a guitar was resting on a particularly battered one. A mixing desk, and a computer, sat in one corner. Four people stood around - three stood and one lounged on another armchair - and all looked up as they walked in.
One man walked up to them - he was the same height as Yamashita, with long, dark hair swept up into a messy ponytail - and threw his arm over Yamashita's shoulders. "Hey, Pi, long time no see, huh?"
Yamashita laughed, and Ueda tried to slink into the shadows, but Yamashita grabbed him before he could.
"This is Ueda Tatsuya."
The other man took his attentions off Yamashita and onto Ueda, who noticeably cringed.
"Hey," the other said, and Ueda looked up. His eyes were soft and brown, with long eyelashes. They looked trustworthy enough. "We talked on the phone the other day, didn't we?" Ueda nodded. "Come on, I'll introduce you to the band." Ueda found himself being steered over to where the others were. "I'm Jin, by the way. Akanishi Jin."
"N-nice to meet you, Akanishi," Ueda stuttered out softly.
"Ah, so he does speak!" one of the other men said, and stepped forward, throwing his arms around Ueda in a hug. Ueda, with both hands full, could only stand there and let it happen. "I'm Kamenashi Kazuya, by the way - bassist."
"And a touchy-feely person. Sorry," Yamashita said, and had to pry Kamenashi off Ueda. Ueda shot Yamashita a thankful look, and Yamashita laughed, waving a hand in front of his face. Kamenashi just pulled a face at him.
"This is our drummer, Koki," Jin said, gesturing to a short man with a broad face and black hair. His outer appearance seemed quite intimidating, but Ueda could tell from the softness set behind those eyes that he was a nice person. And that was exactly how Jin described him. They then turned to the one set upon the couch.
"My name's Nishikido Ryo, guitar." Ueda bowed slightly. The man, Nishikido, stood up, and gestured to Ueda's guitar with his chin. "Are you gonna play us something?"
"R-right now?" he asked. Jin nodded, and led him over to where he wanted him to stand.
"Do you sing?" Jin asked.
"Yes..." he answered, watching as Kamenashi grabbed one of the microphone stands and placed it in front of him, adjusting the height of it. Kamenashi flashed him a kind smile as he finished, and moved away to perch himself on the armrest of a chair.
Ueda was so nervous. It was one thing to sing to hundreds of people who weren't paying you any attention, but it was another thing completely to sing to these people, who were hanging on every little movement he made. His stomach turned, and he fumbled his guitar case, opening it and carefully lifting out his guitar.
He could hear Nishikido snort as he shifted the rather battered guitar around his body. Yamashita whacked him over the head harshly.
Jin threw a look over at Nishikido, and moved over to Ueda, who was breathing heavily. "You alright?" When Ueda nodded, he smiled. "We're a rock band, but just sing anything you're familiar with. Unless it's the blues. Then we're kicking you out right away."
At that, Ueda found himself laughing slightly, and felt himself relax.
He could feel the guitar under his hands; could feel the strings beneath his fingers. He knew this guitar, he knew these strings.
Yamashita smiled softly when Ueda started strumming his guitar. It was the same song that he played each week - he would always play it last, as if saving it. Ueda closed his eyes, focusing on the music. His soft voice filled the room, every so often out of tune, but with so much raw emotion. Jin, who had manouvered his way next to Yamashita, nudged him with his elbow.
When Ueda was done, he kept his eyes on the floor.
"You're in."
"Huh?" Ueda's head shot up.
"You're in," Jin said, smiling widely as he walked over, "Well, I mean, it wasn't as if we weren't gonna have you - if Pi says you're good, then you're good - but now we know what he means. You're...something different."
"...Thankyou....?"
Kamenashi and Tanaka both clapped him on the back, and even Nishikido climbed up out of his chair to say, "Not so bad, Bambi."
Bambi? Ueda thought, but soon disregarded it as Yamashita threw an arm over his shoulders, and whispered, "Nice job there, Ueda." He smiled at Yamashita.
"Thankyou."
"Here, Ueda, how long do you think it'll take to learn this song?" Jin asked, pushing a few pieces of paper into Ueda's hands.
Ueda looked them over as Koki started to lazily hit the drums in an odd beat. "Maybe a week or so?"
Jin smiled. "Awesome! What about we meet here again next week, then, and practice?" Ueda nodded, feeling a wide smile spread across his features. "Actually, we'd better see if your voice goes with mine - maybe we can finally stop making Ryo sing."
"Hey!" came Nishikido's indignant cry from back on the couch, where he was plucking at his own guitar, which was much more clean and shinier than Ueda's own.
"Your voice doesn't fit with mine!" Jin retorted, and then, with a softer tone, turned back to Ueda and asked what songs he knew.
Ueda cast his mind about, listing off numerous artists he knew. Jin gave him blank look.
"Never heard of any of 'em," Tanaka said bluntly, twirling his drum sticks around, and Ueda chuckled.
"He's doing it on purpose! You brought an evil one, Pi!" Jin exclaimed, laughing and walking over to his own microphone. "Okay, let's sing something simple." He mock-glared at Ueda's innocent face. "I'm onto you."
Yamashita laughed, glad that Ueda was finally opening up. However, it was hard not to like Jin. His somewhat child-like smile and eyes were enough to make someone warm up to him, whether it was intentional or not.
The two chose a simple, slow rock song, and started after Kamenashi counted down. Both of their voices were raspy and raw - Jin's was deeper than Ueda's, but Ueda's voice accentuated the others'.
Once they had finished, Jin turned to him with both thumbs up. Ueda smiled widely, quickly ducking his head.
Maybe he would fit in here, after all.