[summary] Back Stage ~ Ch. 3 part 2
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Type: Novel Summary
Title: Back Stage!!
Series: Love Stage!!
Author/Circle: Eiki Eiki, Amano Kazuki
Rating: Rish (amazingly enough, no outright porn this time XD)
Language: English
This time: Rei makes a difficult choice–and Shougo comes to a realization.
Chapter 3 (cont.)
The next day, Rei does as asked and drives Shougo to Narita Airport. While it’s hardly not uncomfortable at all being alone with the guy, it’s ten times better than being alone with Seiya. As they walk through the airport together, Rei notices that Shougo seems a little…off, and chalks it up to his being a bit down from leaving Japan and his family so soon.
They approach the escalators that will take Shougo up to the departure floor–and he stalls. Rei surveys him, suspicious as to what’s going on, and Shougo turns and stares at him, opening his mouth to softly ask, “…Hey, smile at me like you do my dad, would you?” He first asks why he should do something like that, and then wonders to himself what that even means. Smile like he does at Seiya? How is that? He understands that maybe since he loves Seiya, when he smiles at him it’s bigger and longer than with others–but it isn’t as if he does it consciously.
Shougo goes on to explain. “I don’t…really know what it means to be in love with someone else. Maybe–because we started with the physical stuff? I’ve never thought about how I wanted to be by someone’s side because I loved them, or wanted to have sex with them. I’ve never gotten attached to someone special, or thought I really want this person.”
Rei recalls now his conversation with Seiya the night before, about how Shougo is someone who has both everything and nothing. He has talent, money, a place to flourish–but he has nothing he really wants to do, no one he really wants to be with. He remembers that night he met Seiya…the night when he finally got the windfall of cash he’d always wanted, but could think of nothing to spend it on–because there was nothing that mattered.
“Feeling like that–loving someone is…that’s different, right? From how I feel about how cute Izumi is?” And just a little bit–only a little bit–Rei feels pity for Shougo.
“…Yeah, it’s different.”
At this, Shougo smiles bitterly. “…You know–the way you smile when you’re with my dad is really beautiful. I guess it’s because you love him, huh?”
“I suppose; I’m not really sure…”
“Yeah…I guess I’m just a little jealous. Anyways, see ya!” And with that he flits off, leaving Rei standing in utter confusion wondering what’s with this guy.
But Shougo’s gone, and Rei feels a sense of relief wash over him and realizes…he really doesn’t care now. He’s free of all that worry. Given that Shougo apparently hadn’t been in much contact with his family over the past year, Rei feels it’s safe to assume he’ll have at least that much Shougo-free time for now.
…………..Aaaand yet Shougo comes back at the end of that very year, only a few months later. He spends the new year with his family and hits up Rei for sex several times–but leaves again shortly after the new year starts. Rei figures well, it was new year’s–of course he’d want to spend that with his family, and brushes it off…
Except he comes home again for Spring Break.
And then Summer Break.
And again the next new year’s. Shougo’s now coming back every break he has. The next Spring Break, like clockwork, he’s back again and listening to Rei gripe at him about coming home so often. Shougo protests that sex with Rei feels better than sex with anyone else, so he can’t help but want to keep coming back. In his heart, Rei can admit to himself that oh yeah sex with Shougo is definitely the best he’s ever had–but there’s no way he’d ever tell Shougo that.
Shougo presses a kiss to Rei’s lips to heighten the mood, and Rei gives in because really, what choice does he have but to keep going through with this? He knows they can’t keep it up forever–that at some point the rest of the family is going to find out in the worst way possible, but every time Shougo comes back, he winds up giving in.
Shougo pushes him down onto the bed and strips his shirt off, sliding their bare chests together and letting his hand dip down between Rei’s legs. But–
“Wait–!”
“Geez what?”
“Just–shut up for a second!” They both fall quiet–and after listening hard for a moment, they can clearly hear Izumi calling out for Shougo, asking where he is. He must have woken up for some reason, realized Shougo wasn’t sleeping with him like usual, and come to find him.
Rei tosses Shougo’s clothes at him and hisses at him to go tend to Izumi–and perhaps Shougo was worried too, for he doesn’t object at all and quickly slips his shirt back on and wanders into the hall, fibbing to Izumi that he was just getting some fresh air outside.
In his room alone now, Rei can still feel his heart pounding and knows that if he looked in the mirror, he’d look like he’d seen a ghost. He crawls under his covers and curls up, willing his nerves to calm–and makes a decision.
The next afternoon, Izumi is at school and Seiya and Nagisa are off doing their own personal projects. The housekeeper is at the grocery store–which means if he’s going to talk to Shougo alone, he has to do it now.
He knocks on Shougo’s door and is granted entrance immediately–and when Shougo realizes it’s Rei and not the housekeeper, he immediately sits up straight, wide-eyed. It’s rare for Rei to seek him out, after all. Are they going to finish where they left off the previous night, then?
Rei swallows hard, bracing himself. “…Please let’s stop doing this. The risk is too great–if we get found out, my life will be over. You’ve probably got a dozen others you can mess around with, so…”
But–no, he realizes. It’s his fault it’s come this far. He’d told himself it was all just to keep Shougo quiet, but it’s his own fault for not properly spurning Shougo’s advances.
Sure, his worries had been founded at first–he really had done this initially in the hopes of keeping Shougo silent. But after spending all this time with him now, he knows that Shougo wouldn’t just carelessly blab about his feelings for Seiya. He’s not that type of person.
He’s let this go on in part because of the frustration that builds up inside of him, knowing that his feelings for Seiya will never be realized–and of course there’s the fact that sex with Shougo feels amazing. He should have done something, though, before something like what happened the night before.
The most important thing to him right now is Seiya, and SenaPro. “This was…a mistake. I can’t lose everything I have, all my dreams…just to feel good with you.”
After a moment, Shougo speaks up. “I see… Your dreams, huh?” He nods. “…Yeah, I guess there’s no helping it then. This is kind of something we both have to want to work for it to go well, so…” He walks up to Rei and reaches out to grab his hand. “The ‘Secret Society’ is hereby disbanded!” Rei feels him squeeze his hand–and realizes it’s a handshake.
Shougo’s palm is warm against his own, which was chilled with nerves. He looks up at Shougo and notices…he’s taller than Rei now. A lot of time has passed since they met, after all.
“…The Secret Society? Are you an idiot?” Shougo just smiles and lets his hand go–and that is that.
He doesn’t even wait for Spring Break to end before leaving to go back to England.
But the decision Rei made was not just to end his relationship with Shougo–he must leave the Sena home as well and live on his own. He brings this up with the family shortly after Shougo leaves. It’s been several years since he started living in this house now–and he knows now that things will never work out living here so long as he has these feelings for Seiya. The whole business with Shougo started because of that, even.
Izumi is heartbroken at the news, and while Seiya understands and wouldn’t stand in his way, he tries to persuade Rei to stay. Nagisa is, it seems, the only one who offers logical reasoning–understanding that Rei is an adult now and it’s natural he wants to live on his own. Izumi is calmed when he learns that Rei intends to live nearby and will be at the house every day, so Seiya asks if he’s found anywhere he’s considering yet, and asks to see the paperwork Rei’s gathered for it.
Perusing the potential spots, though, Seiya isn’t pleased–Rei’s a SenaPro employee, and he has to live somewhere fit for that position. As such, Seiya winds up putting him up in a brand new, separate bath, temperature-controlled, autolock apartment complex a mere five minutes’ walk away, with the warning that if he doesn’t accept this then Seiya won’t accept him leaving the house.
Of course Rei has no choice, really, and once again he’s indebted to Seiya, alas.
A week or so after Golden Week in May, and Rei has finally gotten used to his new digs.
Work’s going well–since leaving the house, Rei’s finally started to get involved more deeply in the management aspect of SenaPro and is working hard to make the company a bigger player in the production field. But there are of course issues–one being that it’s hard to find new talent to bring in to help increase the agency’s name, and another being that a benign polyp’s been found in Seiya’s throat, and his singing’s being affected by it–at present, Seiya’s trying to decide if it’s worth the risk to have the surgery to get it removed.
Then there’s Shougo. Seiya’s been bringing him up a lot lately, much to Rei’s chagrin, saying things like It’d be nice if Shougo would join the agency. Rei suspects the polyp has something to do with it–and he probably thinks that Shougo’s the perfect person to succeed himself and Nagisa. While Rei can understand his feelings, he isn’t exactly thrilled at the prospect of Shougo being a part of his daily life at SenaPro either.
The intercom to his apartment buzzes–it’s 9 AM, so there’s no one scheduled to visit–and Rei answers it.
Who else would it be but Shougo?
Rei is dumbfounded–it’s after the Golden Week holiday. What’s he doing in Japan?! (heck, his college in England doesn’t even have Golden Week!)
“I have something I absolutely have to tell you, so I came back.” His stare across the video intercom is hard and unyielding. “So–please let me in? I swear I won’t do anything you don’t like.”
He eventually gives in and buzzes Shougo inside–it seems he found out where Rei lives after dropping in at the Sena home. Shougo…doesn’t look like himself at all. His usual flighty attitude is nowhere to be seen, and he seems disturbingly quiet.
Rei pours the both of them tea and settles down with Shougo at a low table, asking what he came to say. Shougo hesitates for several long moments, but then raises his head, seemingly having steeled himself. Rei can’t believe what comes out of his mouth:
“…I tried sleeping with other people, but it didn’t work. I kept thinking about you, always only you. I’m so full of you, I can’t do anything else!” Rei is shocked beyond belief–this is…the worst thing that could happen. How did it come to this? “I can’t be with anyone else but you… Hey–what is this? Why can’t I think about anyone else but you?” Rei grinds out Don’t ask me, wishing he hadn’t heard the question period.
“…Is this love? Does this mean I love you?”
“No.” He cuts off Shougo here. “Don’t you understand? I love Seiya-san–not you! So no matter how much you say you love me, I can’t love you back.”
Shougo looks down at the floor, and after a long silence he prods, “…Even though he loves my mom?”
“Even so.”
“Even though your love will never be returned, ever?”
“Indeed.” He knows all of this without Shougo rubbing it in.
“…I look almost exactly like him, though?”
“No matter how much you look like him–you aren’t.” Shougo doesn’t get it–it doesn’t mean a thing to just look like the person. “And anyways–it’s just on the outside. You’re not honest like he is, and you can’t sing wonderful songs like him!” Seiya’s beautiful voice that saved Rei on that cold winter’s night. “So, I’m sorry–but I can’t return your fee–”
“Then what if I surpass my father?” Shougo interrupts him, and Rei is confused. “If I come back and become an even more amazing person than him–then will you care for me instead of him?”
Rei starts to object–to remind Shougo it isn’t that simple, that he doesn’t understand what it means to truly love someone, that it’s not a matter of surpassing someone like that…
And then he remembers. Remembers Seiya’s desire to pull Shougo into the entertainment industry. This is his chance to do something for Seiya. “…Surpass Seiya-san…does that mean you’d sing?”
“I’d do anything!” he fires back immediately, without an ounce of hesitation.
Rei steels himself and nods. “…Fine. If you manage to do that, then I’ll think it over.”
Shougo is thrilled–but Rei just feels like the absolute worst person in the world. He’s using Shougo’s honest feelings for himself to aid SenaPro. After extracting a promise from Rei in the form of a pinky-swear, like before, Shougo vows to show Rei his success and darts out of the apartment.
The next day, Rei heads to the Sena house to pick up Seiya and finds him in higher spirits than usual–apparently the previous evening Shougo had come to him vowing to become an even greater singer than Seiya and had left on a journey to hone his skills. Seiya is thrilled beyond measure that his son’s found a dream he can follow at last, despite Rei’s misgivings. Shougo also apparently refuses to come home until he’s perfected himself in this endeavor. Buoyed by this new hope in Shougo, Seiya has also decided to have the polyp surgery. Rei turns a bright smile on him, glad to have played no small role in the continued success of SenaPro.
…
Three years later, Rei gets wind of an amazing up-and-coming indies rock band CRUSHERZ, that brings in crowds large enough to fill the Budoukan [nearly 15,000 people].
END CHAPTER 3
Note: And this is the end of volume 1 of the novel, a cool 200 pages! With the Shougo/Rei relationship somewhat set up now, we can start including their manga portions, which are short slice-of-life one-shots of the pair that don’t really follow any storyline, they’re just fun extras. We’ll likely post the first in the next 24 hours and then continue on from there with the UraVersion doujinshi, which is a collection of one-shots for both the couples. It should please most to learn that pretty much all of the Shougo/Rei manga portions are porny XD
Translations of this book are forthcoming, so I hope you all enjoy that as well!
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