Chapter Text
The thump of the drums resonated in the small bar; pounded against the walls and rattled through one’s core. For Judai Yuki, he felt his heart quicken and throat close up.
A husky and sultry voice flowed across the dense crowd, sending them in an uproar filled with screams and whistles. A guitar and keyboard came up one by one, until a fast beat and melancholic melody formed.
Copper eyes sparkled under the fluorescent lights, trained on the band members swaying on stage; hands moving up and down their instruments.
‘ Congratulations, you’re so amazing.
Congratulations, how could you be so fine?
How could you trample on me?
I see your smiling face, I guess you forgot everything.’
Judai couldn’t wipe the grin off his face.
One summer night, a young 18-year-old Judai snuck into this very bar despite the obvious restriction that only those who were 21 years and over are allowed inside.
That same night, this very band went up for the first time and performed a song that struck a chord in Judai’s heart. And in that moment, the boy envisioned himself on stage, bouncing about with a grand smile, playing alongside his friends.
The perfect band had appeared right before his eyes. The energy they presented sent the whole room to lose themselves that night. It was as if suddenly everyone was on cloud nine. A wave of chants and sing-alongs drowned Judai.
And while the lyrics at the time weren’t cordial, the beat and harmonies stimulated his drive to succeed even further.
That’s what Judai associated Team Satisfaction with; a band that invoked freedom and the start of something new.
Even after the tragic incident, the band returned with a new exhilarating song that proved that they could withstand tough times and continue to produce high-quality music.
Five years after being introduced to them, Judai couldn’t be anymore happy for them. He was simply relieved to see their return.
‘When you said let’s take some time.
When you said let’s think about it.
You looked into my eyes and made me believe you.
Like this.’
Of course, as an avid fan, Judai learned everything he could about the band. The sparse information that appeared on the search pages was enough to give him at least their names.
Jack Atlas, the drummer, held a shit-eating grin as his hands worked brutally, moving chaotically, but methodically.
Crow Hogan’s fingers flew across his fully decked up keyboard. It was always a sight to watch how he worked out his synthesizer, adding effects and sounds that would normally be hard to produce.
Then there was him . The star of the show.
Yusei Fudo’s deep and warm voice is what stole many people’s breaths. His hands never ceased to strum against the bright red electric guitar. With lips pressed against the mic, he held an intense stare at the crowd, belting out powerful, heart-wrenching lyrics.
Crow joined in as well, singing his lines and harmonising richly.
Their new song was one that seeped into one’s brain and heart. It brought up unwanted memories, feelings, and tears. It made you wonder how one song could leave you contemplating on those very thoughts.
Judai swallowed the lump that begged to form in his throat and swayed in sync with the crowd.
And before they knew it, the song had come to an end. The cheers and screams were deafening, but he enjoyed it nonetheless. The band members each gave their thanks and began to head off stage.
Sadly, they weren’t the main act. The Kaiser Bar was holding a small band showcase. Bands signed up prior to be able to perform and present their sound. Team Satisfaction was one of the bands the audience was looking forward to the most.
A few bands were left to perform and while Judai wanted to stay, he had an early shift the next day. He swiftly turned to make his way towards the open bar. Right at the very back, the owner being none other than Ryo Marufuji, his best friend’s brother, finished handing over an alcoholic drink to a patron.
Dark eyes followed Judai as he approached. “Are you heading out?” Ryo asked, reaching down and pulling out a rag to wipe down the marble counter.
“Mn!” Judai’s bright eyes complimented the flush on his plump cheeks. “It’s getting late and Fubuki wants me to come in early,” he bitterly replied. His boss peeved him at times for the inconsistent shifts and demands for the store to be very organized.
“Are you satisfied?”
Judai blinked and burst into another of his signature grins. “Duh! It’s what I’ve been looking forward to all month!”
Ryo’s stare moved up to focus on the stage now being occupied by another band. “They specifically chose to make their comeback here,” he said, softly.
Judai’s expression softened and added in, “Because it’s where it all started.”
There was a moment of silence, then, “Shouldn’t you be on your way now?”
Ryo had quite the talent of ruining sentimental moments. “Right. Thanks for the drinks!” Judai called out, waving back as he made his way towards the double doors.
Despite it being summer, the warm night air felt cool against his sweaty skin. Immediately upon walking out, the familiar shaky and giddy feeling surfaced. The after effects of all his excitement came pouring out.
As he made his way down the street, his legs wanted to give in, his arms shook and finally the pain in his face was flourishing. Feeling out of control. Not himself.
Judai didn’t mind it.
It was the thrill of the music scene.
The music scene he oh-so wished to stay in.
Gazing up at the twinkling night sky, he breathed out a shaky sigh. He wanted to be in a band. He wanted to play on stage one day. His fleeting dream seemed far, yet close at the same time.
Judai rounded the corner and came to a tucked in convenience store. One he frequented since it was conveniently close to his apartment. Upon walking in, the bright lights were almost blinding, in contrast to the dark bar that was always dimly lit.
After having two drinks, Judai was feeling a high and started to crave a late night snack. He navigated the colorful aisles, in search of his favorites. His hand hovered, coming to a stop on a long sushi roll; a shrimp one to be exact.
Then, he went towards the back where the refrigerated drinks were located and chose a cold tea to pair with it.
Making his way back to the front of the store, a cheery tune echoed. ‘Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream. Make him the cutest that I’ve ever seen.’
Judai stopped at the counter, placing his items on the surface and followed the source of the song.
A couple standing face-to-face was displayed on a tall LED screen. The jingle continued on and on, sucking Judai in to stare at the happy couple holding out their phones.
“If you’re in love, ring the alarm,” Judai softly read out the words on the screen.
“It’s all everyone talks about these days,” the girl behind the counter added in. Her stern expression never ceased.
Judai hummed, remembering his friends showing him the mobile app. Even now it felt like a mystery to him.
A love app that connects with your feelings and notifies you if someone within a 10-meter radius has romantic feelings for you? It seemed far fetched, but it apparently worked.
“$8.50 is your total.”
He was so focused on the ad that the voice of the girl startled him. Quickly swiping his card, a plastic bag was pushed towards him. He bid a goodbye to her and was out the door in a flash.
The night was young and all Judai wanted to do was get home, eat and fall asleep to Team Satisfaction’s new song.
Judai’s not much of a morning person. He would have preferred to sleep in, especially on a Saturday.
Regardless of time, the streets of Neo Domino city were always bustling. The brunette dodged passerbys scurrying to arrive at work on time. Retail workers stood out in front of their respective stores, promoting new products and encouraging shoppers to come in.
Just as Judai was walking up to the music store, Fubuki Tenjoin was turning the keys to open the front door.
“Yo! Wasn’t expecting ya to arrive on time,” Fubuki looked over his shoulder to greet him.
“Couldn’t sleep. I’m still feeling the rush of last night’s events. I should have drank more honestly,” Judai replied.
Once inside, the two made their way towards the back of the store and into the staff room. On his way in, Fubuki flipped the switch and the entire store was blanketed in a warm ambience.
“Only two drinks? Come on, you usually get up to six before you start blacking out.”
“I would have drank more if someone hadn’t scheduled me so early,” Judai playfully grumbled, forcefully clicking away at a computer located within the room. He huffed when Fubuki let out his obnoxious laughter. “There. I’m clocked in.”
Judai turned around and jumped back from the sight of Fubuki smiling at him, shoving a package in his arms. “Care to tell me more about last night while you stock up?” he asked, teasingly.
There were only two tasks Judai had to do in the store; ring customers up and stock up shelves. Fubuki mainly handled inventory and any kind of management work, or so he assumed. Their other worker wouldn’t arrive until an hour before Judai’s shift ended, and even they pretty much did the same work as him.
The music store wasn’t super busy, though they received a number of customers throughout the day. Parents bringing their noisy child who begged all week for a guitar was quite common these days. There were also those parents who were looking to invest in a piano because some kind of music talent looked good on college applications.
Well, Judai could attest to that.
Ah, but really the majority of customers were those heavily involved with the music industry. Basically those in small, up and coming bands.
And not to toot his own horn, Judai has met his fair share of music stars who only needed a simple pack of strings. Fubuki handled the ones who were searching for new instruments because in his words, “I need to impress them, so they can advertise us on their social media accounts.”
Judai sighed to that and sighed on his way out of the staff room. He began to recount on the performances from last night.
The first couple of bands were decent. For some it was their first time, so their nervousness and skills were evident. Others simply didn’t suit Judai’s taste. During their performances, he chatted with Ryo and hoped his drink would drown out the music.
A few bands already had a fanbase going, henced the amount of fans that came to cheer them on. Again, a few piqued Judai’s interest.
“And then…”
“They came on.” Judai smiled at the memory of Team Satisfaction stepping on stage with their intense aura.
Team Satisfaction weren’t known to having a huge fanbase, but they certainly garnered a large audience whenever they performed. There was something about their music that hooked any new listener to delve a little deeper.
Maybe it was the way each song was full of lush harmonies and poignant lyrics.
Maybe it was the way they seamlessly blended different sounds into something so much more than one can expect.
What’s for sure is that the minute they began to play, you knew they were going to put their heart into the performance.
The tall stage never stopped them from connecting with their listeners. The band whole heartily put themselves in vulnerable positions for the audience to learn the stories they carried and their deepest emotions that couldn’t be expressed in any other way.
Fubuki came up to the end of the aisle after setting up the cash register for the day. Judai continued to add new packets of strings to the ones already displayed on the shelf. “Did they sound any different?” Fubuki asked, now leaning against the structure.
Never ceasing his movement, Judai answered truthfully, “You couldn’t deny that it was definitely missing the bass. But could you really blame Yusei for choosing to play the guitar instead? The guitar is super vital for any song.” He then walked past his boss, entered the next aisle and continued his routine.
“Hm, I wonder why they haven’t decided to add a new member.”
Judai paused, furrowing his brows. “Well, it’s not exactly easy to add someone new after what happened.” He took a deep breath and shook off the sudden uneasiness. Remembering the incident always brought down his mood.
“True, but a band always cares about their sound,” Fubuki popped up right behind him, adding a shrug to his statement. Judai’s hard stare resulted in the man putting his hands up in defense. “Okay! Sorry!”
“Fubuki.”
Meekly, he said, “I was being a little insensitive there, right?” Judai nodded, giving him a forced smile.
Now finished with stocking, Judai spun around to shove the box back into Fubuki’s arms. “Other than that, their new song was amazing! God, I don’t even know how to explain just how good it was!” His smile had suddenly brightened, matching the twinkle in his eyes.
Fubuki sighed and shook his head. He slapped his shoulder and stepped around to head back into the staff room. “You don’t have to explain! I can tell by your actions!” He yelled out.
The sound of the door shutting told the brunette that it was time to get to work. Still brimming with glee, Judai made his way towards his post and settled right behind it. Since he had finished his homework beforehand, there was no need for him to bring his backpack in.
Back when he started working here, he would bring over one of the store’s keyboards or guitars to practice on. Fubuki always allowed him to do whatever as long as he was doing his job.
But after graduating from high school, Judai hasn’t done that since. He hoped each shift was filled with helping customers out or doing homework.
On days like today, he opted to pull out a magazine and read through it until someone or something needed his assistance.
An hour or two passed and a couple of customers and window-shoppers stopped by. Judai was on his third magazine of the day. It could have been higher if not for the occasional look at his phone and ringing customers up, of course.
Each time a customer popped in, the bell above jingled along. And each time, Judai yelled out, “Welcome!”
A tall man entered the store; his mouth and nose covered in a black mask and a dark cap forcibly placed with strands of hair that poked out in every direction. It appeared as if he had hurriedly put it on before entering.
Blue eyes glanced over at Judai who was deeply absorbed at whatever was in his hands. The man carried on to the aisles, in search of one item.
Stopping in front of the guitar strings, he noticed that they were newly stocked. He was relieved after struggling to find the exact ones that fit his guitar.
The mask rubbed roughly on the man’s chin, causing him to pull the mask off for a moment to readjust.
Behind the mask was Team Satisfaction’s main vocalist, bassist, and now leader; Yusei Fudo. He quickly pulled up the straps to cover up his appearance.
Since their announcement of their new song, the band has received an influx of new fans and overall more publicity. Yusei wasn’t about to let himself be swarmed by fans on his day out.
He slowly made his way to check out; eyes scanning around the store. Over the years, the store hadn’t changed much, besides a few interior changes here and there. The comfortable atmosphere still remained and most importantly, the very friendly worker never left.
Yusei stopped in front of the brunette and carefully placed down the packet on the wood surface. His eyes lingered on Judai’s nonchalant expression.
Judai realized seconds later that there was a customer right in front of him. “Will that be all for today?” he asked, bringing up a smile and pushing the magazine out of sight.
“Mn,” was Yusei’s only response. His expression softened, still staring at the shorter male. In his head, the image of a youthful boy with eyes full of wonder and an incredible smile remained all these years.
Today, that very boy had grown. The smile he had given just now was smaller and less brighter than before.
Whether it was bad, Yusei wasn’t sure. He only knew that it wasn’t the same.
That day, years ago. They shared an interest and maybe it was only in that moment, the brunette showed his true feelings.
With all these thoughts, Yusei blurted out, “Did you ever finish that song?”
Judai didn’t get the chance to tell the man his total as he was taken aback by the strange question. Song? Was he ever writing a song?
It was clear by the way his eyes widened up and his brows knitted, that he had no clue what Yusei was talking about. “Uh, it has been a couple years…” Yusei added, his hand came up to rub the back of his head. “Sorry, don’t mind me.” He should have kept his mouth shut.
If the brunette had remembered him, then he would have spoken first. Now, there was an uncomfortable silence between them.
Judai coughed and proceeded to tell him, “Your total is $20.43.” It wasn’t the best way to ease their tension, but by getting him out of here, the sooner this situation would end.
As the transaction was being processed, Judai racked his brain over the question. The man clearly meant to ask him that specific question. So, why didn’t he recognize him, or remotely know what he was talking about?
Yusei stepped from one side to the other. He wanted to explain himself, but it was clear that the other had grown uneasy. Maybe on another day, he would return.
Swiftly placing the receipt in the bag, Judai bid goodbye to the man and watched as he walked away in dismay.
It wasn’t until they had stepped out that a suppressed memory came flying out, knocking the wind out of Judai. He scrambled to reach the window, dropping the magazines on the floor along the way. Fair hands smacked the glass as he pressed up for a good look.
The tall male revved up his red motorcycle and drove off, down the busy street of Neo Domino city.
His fingers curled up and silently cursed at himself.
They knew each other.
But Judai had chosen to forget about him as that song they bonded over only brought him unwanted feelings and thoughts.
Nevertheless, there was no denying that something special had occurred that day.
5 years ago
The city was starting to wind down along with the sun. The sky adorned a dreamy hue of orange and purple. Little specks of white began to pop up.
The wind whistled and sent a chill down each person’s back. It was shy of winter and Neo Domino was slowly transitioning into the holiday season.
A 17-year-old Yusei picked up speed in his steps and hurried into the warmth of the music store. The next breath he let out thawed the coldness that snuck in through his mask. The knitted beanie upon his head felt tighter than before.
Right away, he heard the soft lull of Christmas music playing in the background.
The store was relatively empty, except for the lone worker at the cash register. He glanced over and caught the individual bent over on the side, deeply immersed in their task.
Yusei disregarded them and went towards the aisle dedicated to bass guitars. His bandmate had recommended this store as it had the best selection in whatever musical necessity you were looking for.
His eyes scanned the rows, until he spotted the one brand he was recommended as well. Front to back, he flipped the packet skimming through the information. He trusted in his bandmate to pick the best products for him.
In the midst of the Christmas music, a hum arose, and soon a full sentence was being sung. Yusei found himself unable to move as he heard that sentence repeated two, three—no, four times.
Sure, he and his bandmates were great vocalists, but this ? How could he rival with this beautiful voice?
No, not even that.
He wanted to add in his own to create something even more marvelous.
At first, Yusei naturally assumed it was coming from the music, but it would stop, then suddenly come up once again. There was no one else in the store besides him and the worker.
He took slow steps and peered out of the aisle and towards the cash register. From this angle he could see the source situated on a stool, playing on a keyboard and writing away on a notebook.
An image too familiar to him, caused the corners of Yusei’s lips to rise. Who knows how long he lingered in that same spot, enjoying their voice and even the small frustrations here and there.
Yusei soon realized that he had dropped the packet on the floor and bent down to retrieve it. Now that he had moved, he decided it was time for him to check out.
He slowly walked towards the counter, eyes trained on the brown-swept hair. Seconds passed and the young worker hadn’t noticed Yusei’s presence.
Yet, he continued to watch him. It seemed the boy was struggling to write a song. Yusei and his bandmates always faced those kinds of moments. What helped was the suggestion of others.
While it might have been rude for him to barge in, he knew that any musician would appreciate it, even if they decided to take it out in the end.
Eventually, “Are you writing a song?” spoke up Yusei.
The brunette turned around and the most blinding smile filled Yusei’s vision. “Do you have experience with this?” he asked, excitedly. This grip on his pencil was tight, it could split at any second.
Eraser shavings littered the page and cups of coffee remained on the window sill. “I write a lot of songs,” Yusei calmly responded. His eyes never wanted to stray away from the brown ones brimming with excitement. “You look like you need help.”
The boy nodded, frantically. A chuckle escaped from Yusei’s lips.
“If you don’t mind.” Yusei walked around the counter and came up behind him. With his hands on either side, he leaned down and peered at what he had so far. The contact was extremely close, but neither cared at that moment. Yusei then focused on the keyboard, repeating the notes, but added in a few of his own.
A gasp came out of the young male and awed at how his song now sounded fresh and heartfelt. It retained the emotions he wanted, but with the new added keys, it brought a feeling of joy.
He whipped his head up and gave the biggest grin he could muster. “Thank you! You have no idea how long I’ve been struggling with this part!” he exclaimed.
And those crescent shaped eyes sent an unknown warmth deep within Yusei’s chest. Thankfully, the mask covered the flush that crawled up on his cheeks. Geez, such an expression left his mind feeling like mush.
“I-Is there anything else you need help with?” Yusei managed to get out after a minute.
The brunette was in awe once again. “I don’t want to take your time! I-I also should be working, haha,” he spluttered.
“I don’t mind. It’s just us two in the store right now. It’ll be quick.”
On that fateful night, they bonded over their love for music and showed compassion for one another as they worked through a few more notes together.
It never crossed their minds that this moment—this memory would soon come back and be the turning point to their relationship.
And just as they had bonded and helped each other—
They would do it all over again. Once more.