Gravitation Fan Fiction ❯ A Symphony of Strength ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: Gravitation is not mine.

 

For a man who was the president of a record label, Seguchi Tohma had very little time to actually play with music. It was even more ironic in the light that he was a member of Nittle Grasper, one of the most popular J-pop bands ever, even if they were semi-retired.

Tohma's day began as it usually did, a sudden awareness of consciousness, not quite at the crack of dawn but decently a few hours later. People in the music industry kept late hours after all. Everything was normal as he performed his morning routine until the sudden clink of his toothbrush against the rinsing glass distracted him. A snatch of melody drifted across his mind, half-formed in its tantalizing deliciousness. He didn't know how long he'd been staring off into space rapping his toothbrush against the glass until Mika poked her head in and called his name.

"Tohma, come to breakfast," she said, apparently used to this side of her husband.

He apologized quickly and finished his dressing. Today, a gold silk shirt, finished off by a rich lapis lazuli shaded cashmere coat. A matching deep blue hat set off the gold highlights in his fair hair. He enjoyed wearing jewel colors best.

He made quick work of his orange juice and toast before gifting his wife with a gentle peck on her cheek. She smiled agreeably at him and wished him a pleasant day at work, adding a reminder about their plans for the evening.

"Ah yes, Eiri-san's book launch," he said with a nod. There was no question that they wouldn't be attending. They were family.

The drive to his office was smooth, Tohma comfortably familiar with the route there. Once again, he was able to turn the budding refrain around in his mind, embellishing it here and there, though still not quite perceptibly yet a song. Nevertheless, all was tucked away the moment he arrived.

He strode through the doors of NG Records and allowed the day's business to enfold him. Tohma was the master of his domain here-- giving approval for the signing of new groups, granting fame and fortune to some, snatching it away from others. He made a few deals during lunch with distributors, listened to proposals for new albums by teatime and fired an incompetent manager by 5 pm.

All through the day, the ebb and flow of the half-formed refrain taunted him. At last, it became too much and Tohma exited his office. Telling his secretary that he was just going to take a walk, he made his way down to the recording studios.

Along the way, the report of gunshots attracted his attention. While nerve-wracking, the sound was somewhat of a daily occurrence at NG, especially whenever Bad Luck weren't on tour. Instead of being like any other sensible person and running away, Tohma glided over.

In the room, two young men were cowering beneath the shelter of a table, his cousin Suguru was backed up against the wall, and the last was waving his gun about.

"K-san, what seems to be the matter?" Tohma inquired politely while standing cautiously out of the line of fire.

A chorus of 'he's crazy!' 'he's going to kill us!' 'they need to finish their work!' 'I want to go to Yuki's book launch tonight!' greeted Tohma's ears. Tohma's smile never faded from his face.

"It would be best if you did as K-san said, Shindou-san. There's still a few hours before the event," Tohma said mildly but with an underlying edge of steel. He addressed Shuichi because he knew the young man was the one responsible for K's outburst. Whatever his feelings were for Shuichi's relationship with Yuki, he wasn't about to let business interfere with it.

Whether it was his words or his expression, the result was Shuichi getting up from his hiding place and bowing in defeat. Tohma nodded to K and watched the group troop back into the studio before leaving to return to his search.

Most of the rooms were occupied but at last, he found a small audition room. Slipping in, he broke the still silence of the room by running his fingers down a vacant keyboard. He nodded to himself with satisfaction and sat down to play.

He started out with the half-formed melody, segued into a riff, mixed a jaunty tempo into the bridge and worked out the notes of a chorus that sent his blood singing. Before he knew it, he had composed a song.

"Is that a new song for us?" The question broke into Tohma's concentration. He'd been so focused that he hadn't even noticed that someone had come into the room.

Tohma stopped and smiled shyly at his intruder. "Do you like it, Ryuuichi?" He was always amazed that for such an ebullient person, Ryuuichi could keep quiet when he wanted to.

"I like it! Kumagoro likes it too!" The Nittle Grasper vocalist exclaimed enthusiastically while waving his bunny about.

"I'll work on it a bit more and then show it to Noriko soon," Tohma said with a smile. He glanced up at the wall clock and was unsurprised that several hours had passed. Music was the one thing that could make him forget the time.

"Are you going to Eiri-san's book signing?" Tohma thought Ryuuichi might, given that Tatsuha was also likely to be there.

Ryuuichi gave him a grin of confirmation.

"You better go then."

Tohma watched Ryuuichi bounce off. Tohma regretfully ran his fingers one last time down the keyboard before departing in search of his wife. He had to lend her moral support after all, in dealing with her brother. Playing his music would have to wait.

Notes: Tohma always seems to be the strong one of the entire cast. I think he's very driven and is probably willing to sacrifice just about anything to take care of his people. But I think he also loves his music. Nobody could work with Ryuuichi and be so successful in music otherwise. That's how I came up with the title of this story.