Chapter 1

Fate is kind and cruel

Just to tell everyone, don't tell me that this seems like another manga or the characters look familiar. This was made based on a roleplay game my friend and I were doing.

To tourists, London, England, is a place to go for a lovely vacation. There were monuments to visits, tours to take, and restaurants and shops to visit. Unfortunately, the tourist side of London is the only side of London that outsiders hear about. At night, London becomes a different city. The city was owned by those in the entertainment industry and the fans of the industry. Nightclubs lit up and opened their doors for those craving music, booze, and dance. Music clubs hosted concerts for both well-known performers and those who were just starting out. In an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of London, three teenage boys were rehearsing in their band, hoping to join the music industry.

One short teenager had a bass guitar in his hands. He was dressed in an all-white outfit: white expensive pants, a white vest, a white jacket with fur-covered insides, and white shoes. His hair was blond in the front and his natural black in the back. His blond hair was long enough to surround the outlining of his face, which gave him the appearance of a female. His black hair was only a couple inches long and spiked in a way so that they were sticking out in every direction. He, named Tetsuya, was currently tuning his bass guitar to make sure it hit all the proper notes. A few strings were being stubborn but he soon got them under control.

The tallest teenager of the group had an electric guitar in his hands. He looked like a natural born rock star. Like Tetsuya, his hair was naturally black but he added an unusual color in order for him to stand out. The back of his head was covered with the same spike style that Tetsuya sported. The front, however, was long and straight. Half of the hair went down to his jaw line which barely covered his left eyebrow ring and two lip studs while the other half was done to his shoulder and dyed red. He had leather bracelets on both arms and three metal necklaces around his neck to add to his rock and roll style. His outfit consisted of black leather pants and a black vest with blood red insides, giving the aura of someone who was both a rebel and highly respectful. Named Naoki, he was playing a short segment of a song as his guitar was all tuned up.

The final boy did not have an instrument in his hands for his instrument was his voice. His hair was blond with black undertones but was longer than Tetsuya's. He had an outfit that seemed to be the opposite of Tetsuya's. He had on black pants and a black jacket with white designs on it. Over all of it, he wore a black trench coat. To add to his outfit, he had white shoes and a black cane with a silver top. He had only one piercing and that was a ring on his lip. Named Katsuya, he was rocking out to the song in his head.

Tetsuya sighed as another string went out of tune. "I need to get a new guitar."

Naoki nodded in agreement and added, "That's not the only thing this band needs."

Katsuya turned to his guitar player. "What does that mean?"

Naoki gave the singer a look. "Come on, Katsuya. We're only half a band, we have only one song, and that song doesn't even have any music to it."

Katsuya slightly shrugged. "We'll make it…eventually."

Tetsuya scoffed. "Band contests don't know the word 'eventually.' The contest is a month away and we're not even close to ready."

Katsuya turned away from his friends. He hated to admit it but they were right. It was luck that they even met that day six months ago. Katsuya had scrapped together the money for a ticket to his favorite band but was disappointed with how little he could see. Naoki and Tetsuya were near him and they noticed each other. They bonded during the concert when they started dancing to their favorite songs. They even bonded after the concert. Once the encores were over, they went to the bar section of the place and talked about how much they wanted to make music and how different they were compared to what was classified as "normal" society. The next thing they knew, they were in the warehouse months later as the band Drowning Heaven, talking about band contests.

Tetsuya set his bass aside and joined the singer. "How are the lyrics coming?"

Katsuya slightly shrugged and pulled out a piece of paper from his pant pocket. "They're the same as before. I can't think of anything to add to them."

Naoki listened in and chuckled. "You misunderstood what I said."

The blond looked at the guitarist. "I did not. You said it was missing something."

"True…I was talking about music. Just lyrics don't make it a song."

Katsuya scowled and looked away. Tetsuya rolled his eyes, for this attitude from Katsuya was not new. "Come on, you two. Let's not get snippy again. Let's get at least a little work done."

Katsuya shook his head and ran his hand through his hair. "No…we can't. There's no point without having a drummer."

Tetsuya had no choice but to agree with that. "But we're looking for a drummer. At least we're doing something."

Naoki stood up and played a chord on his guitar. "Until we find that drummer, let's see what we can do with those lyrics of yours."

Katsuya smirked. Naoki always knew what to say when the going got tough. It was Naoki's idea to start the band and he always had great ideas for the band. He tossed the paper to him and Naoki started to work on the music with Tetsuya on the bass.

---

About an hour later, they had part of the melody thought up. But they knew it was lacking something without a drum set. Nevertheless, they were happy with what they had so far. Naoki and Tetsuya packed up their instruments as Katsuya looked on. "Say guys…you think we got what it takes?"

Tetsuya nodded and Naoki answered, "Duh! Like I keep saying, add a few things here and there and we'll take the world by storm."

Tetsuya agreed. "So lighten up. You're our singer and you need to be on top of your game."

Katsuya smirked. "Don't worry about me. I'm always on top of my game."

With that, they headed out for the night. Naoki and Tetsuya left together since the three friends shared an apartment together. But Katsuya stayed for a moment. He sighed and looked up at the starry night. He wanted Drowning Heaven to be the best band there was. But he didn't know it would be so hard. It wasn't like he didn't have any passion. The band surrounded his life. But he couldn't help thinking that something was missing. The band was lacking something, the song was lacking something…but most of all, he felt that he was lacking something.

Having a hand waved in front of him snapped him out of his trance. Naoki smirked. "You coming, hot shot?"

Katsuya nodded as he took out the lyrics and looked over them. Naoki looked at his friend and got an idea. "You need a woman."

Katsuya blushed deeply at that comment. "Excuse me?!"

Naoki smirked. This reaction wasn't new when the subject was about him having a girl other than his sister Riku. "Come on, man. I can introduce you to one of my many lady friends."

Katsuya shook his head, still blushing. "No way. I don't need a girl. I'm perfectly fine."

Naoki nodded. "Yeah…for now. Every now and then, every guy needs to get laid to relieve some frustrations."

Katsuya rolled his eyes. "This coming from the guy who wants to bed every woman in creation."

Naoki slightly shrugged. It was no secret that he loved women and everything about them. He grinned with pride but turned serious again. "But seriously, dude…you need a woman. It's for your best interest."

Katsuya just blushed as Naoki patted the blond's back. "Just think about it and I'll set you up. Now are you coming?"

The other nodded. "Yeah, I just need to walk around first."

The guitarist smirked. "Just don't take too long…you never know what kind of things lurk around here at night." He then took off before the vocalist could get him.

Katsuya shuddered, for he hated to think about spooky stuff. He also hated the fact that Naoki liked to tease him about his fright. Trying to get the last comment out of his head, he started to walk in the opposite direction as his friends went. It was his special spot, under a tree, that he wanted to spend a few minutes to clear his head. Sitting down, he pulled out his lyrics and looked at them. They spoke of how love songs could have a negative affect on people who were feeling down. He wrote it down one night when he was listening to a love song and feeling very lonely.

He sighed and leaned his head back on the trunk of the tree. "I know what I need…inspiration. But where can I find it?"

As he kept looking up at the night sky, the piece of paper fluttered in the wind. Hearing the soft noise made Katsuya smile softly and close his eyes. Feeling in the mood, he started to softly sing the chorus of his song. At the moment, he did not have the score for the songs but he did not care. Because his eyes were closed, he did not realize that he had an audience until the said audience snatched the paper out of his hand. Katsuya's eyes snapped open and looked up at the person in front of him.

Standing before him was a man he had never seen before. The man was tall and clothed in black from head to toe. He would have blended in with the night if it wasn't for his hands and face. His hair was dark brown and fell down over his eyes. His right wrist, which was holding the piece of paper had a blood tattoo that was bright red even in the dark. He gave off the aura of someone who looked like a movie assassin.

Katsuya watched the stranger very closely. Having grabbed the paper to get the blond's attention, the taller male studied the paper and started to read the lyrics. The blond was hoping for a good reaction. After a minute, though, he hoped for at least a reaction. The taller male did not make a single reaction, even though it was apparent that he was done reading the lyrics. Finally he spoke up with a voice that was deeper than the blond's. "Did you write these?"

Katsuya reacted in surprise at the sound of the other's voice but still answered. "Um…yes."

The brunette's eyebrow twitched. "And what grade are you in?"

The blond tilted his head. "College."

The other scoffed. "If you said elementary or special Ed, I would have gone easy on you. But since you're not…your work is pathetic at best."

Katsuya reacted with absolute shock. The taller male crumbled the paper into a ball and tossed it into Katsuya's face. He then turned around and left with a final comment. "If I were you, I'd get a real job and forget about being in a band. You have absolutely no talent whatsoever."

With that, he disappeared into the night. Katsuya was left sitting under the tree, stunned by what this stranger just said to him. He didn't expect such cruel remarks from someone he never seen before. He remained in stunned silence for a few moments and then came back to reality. He then started to growl; he did not take insults at all. He secretly hoped that the stranger would come back so that they could have a word battle. But, knowing that that would probably never happen, the blond gripped the paper ball and stormed off for home.

---

Naoki was typing on his laptop and Tetsuya was still tuning his bass when Katsuya came in in a huff. Naoki looked up first. "Hey, Katsuya. I think I found someone to join our band."

Katsuya didn't answer and started to make his way to his room. Tetsuya raised his eyebrow. "Um…earth to Katsuya, you're going off course. Come back to Earth."

Katsuya went into his bedroom and closed the door. Naoki and Tetsuya looked at each other in surprise and went to investigate. They opened the door slightly and looked in. Katsuya was at his desk, writing like crazy. His roommates could not think of anything to say to the busy blond and decided to leave him alone for the night.