Samurai 7: Warriors Of Rock

DISCLAIMER: This story is a non-commercial work of fiction based on the anime/manga Samurai 7. Original copyright of Samurai 7 belongs to Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, Hideo Oguni, MICO, GDH, GONZO. Original copyright of Gravitation belongs to Maki Murakami. Absolutely no monetary gain has been made with this work.


SAMURAI 7: WARRIORS OF ROCK
© October 29, 2006 By Rory V. Pascual


CHAPTER SIX: Since You've Been Gone

"Daddy? Who was that man with you last night?"

Kanbei could only offer many thanks to the uncanny intuition that all fathers possessed. A gut feeling told him that his eldest daughter had seen him come home with a stranger, and a smooching one at that. Turning to Kirara at the breakfast table, he could see that the girl was deliberately trying not to look at him.

Laughing, Kanbei narrated, "You won't believe this but that young man happens to be the President of Saionji Electronics."

Kirara turned to him at last, gasping in shock. "You're kidding! That perv…" She stopped at once, turning red in embarrassment. "I mean, that…kid is the president of a corporation?"

Komachi took a deep gulp of her milk. "If you had finished what you were going to say, you won't hear any disagreements from me. Shitty Kissing Bandit!"

"Komachi! What did I tell you about cussing?" Kanbei exclaimed, aghast to hear the S-word coming from his youngest daughter's lips. He then continued, "Truth be told, he wasn't all that bad. Young as he was, his idea of a place for a business meeting was a malt shop. Still, he has pretty good business sense, despite his age. When I agreed to handle his company's account…well…you saw what happened."

Kirara looked visibly relieved at that explanation, something that made Kanbei happy inwardly. "He must have foreign relations," his eldest suggested. "Russian, perhaps? I know that they give each other a kiss as a greeting."

"Naaaah!" Komachi immediately piped in, wiping her milk mustache on her sleeve. "He's just a pervert through and through."

"How do you know that, Komachi? You sound as if you know him."

Kanbei threw a sharp warning glance at his little girl over the coffee he was sipping.

Thankfully, Komachi was quick to recover her wits. "Come on, sis! A guy kissing a guy? No doubt! A pervert!"

"Well, this pervert happens to be my client, so be nice," Kanbei admonished his youngest child.

Unfazed by her father's warning, Komachi began menacingly, "A client is a client, Papa-san. I don't want him courting you. And if I see him smooching you again like a leech…POW!" She emphasized that last by punching her right fist into her left palm.

Smiling, Kanbei playfully ruffled Komachi's hair. "So nice to see that I have such a determined protector." He at last stood up, slipping the envelope that Shichiroji had left behind inside his briefcase.

"You're doing overtime this Saturday, Dad?" Kirara asked, frowning. "I wish you wouldn't overwork yourself."

"No, I just thought I'd drop by to see the contract that Katsushiro and my bosses had drawn up yesterday. Make sure that everything's in order. Afterwards, I'm going to the bookstore. There's a book that I want to check out."

"What book is that?"

" 'The Lullaby of Cedars by Yamaguchi Eiji.' "

Hearing the title, Kirara lapsed into a coughing fit. Like an old woman, Komachi gave her sister a doting rub on the back.

With a raise of his eyebrows, Kanbei inquired, "Did I say something wrong?"

Kirara downed the remainder of her milk to clear her throat. " 'The Lullaby of Cedars'…you do know what it's about, right, Dad?"

"Well, I assume it's a children's story. About toys and a grand adventure is what I heard."

"If you find the book, can I read it too, Daddy?" Komachi begged eagerly.

There was a grimace on Kirara's face. "That book is not suited for someone your age, Chibi."

"But if it's about toys," Komachi argued, "why couldn't I read it? And didn't I tell you to stop calling me that!"

Kanbei looked at his eldest child with suspicion. "Why? What's wrong with it? Have you actually read it, Kirara?"

"Sorry, no. I would if I could. Everyone's talking about it in school, especially the girls. According to them, it's a beautiful love story, despite it being…" Kirara did not explain any further. "But it's a huge bestseller. You're lucky if you find a copy of Volume One. It's always sold out the minute it hits the bookshelves, and there are five volumes so far."

"FIVE VOLUMES?" Kanbei's shoulders sagged. "Looks like I have a long search ahead of me."

"Why the sudden interest in 'Lullaby of Cedars'?" Kirara inquired, the curiosity plain on her pretty face.

Kanbei just gave his daughter a playful wink. "Let's just say a…friend…recommended it to me."

~~~~~~~~~~

"Working hard on a Saturday, Kanbei-kun?"

Kanbei quickly rose from his seat to give Ukyo a polite bow. Waving to the flickering monitor, he explained, "I thought I'd drop by to look at the Saionji contract."

"Everything's in order, I hope?" Ukyo asked pointedly, bending down to look at the screen.

"Yes, sir." Kanbei sat down once more. "I just confirmed the transfer of one billion dollars into the account. I wasn't expecting such a huge figure."

"Not surprising since it is the combined assets of Shichiroji and Okamoto Katsushiro's profits from their joint business venture."

"Well, I will certainly not betray the trust of your clients. I'll take good care of this account. I promise you that, Ukyo-sama."

"I'm sure you would." Ukyo patted the older man's back. "Are you finished? I've just concluded a transaction myself so I'll have the guards close up now. Besides, you should be with your lovely daughters on weekends."

"Kirara and Komachi have club projects today." Kanbei hoped Ukyo would not inquire about his eldest daughter's whereabouts. "And I'm done, sir. Let me just tidy up."

As Kanbei hastened to put the copies of the contract that he was going to give to Shichiroji inside his briefcase, he did not notice that the numbers on the screen began to decrease. It was Ukyo who saw the changing figure, his eyes flitting back and forth between the older man and the monitor. When one hundred thousand dollars had been deducted, the figure blinked back to the original figure of one billion.

Unaware of what had happened, Kanbei switched off his computer and picked up his bag. "Thank you, Ukyo-sama. I'll see you on Monday."

"I'll be sure to inform my father of your dedication to your work," Ukyo reassured him. "Now, run along, Kanbei-kun."

Giving his boss one last bow, Kanbei hurriedly left the bank, completely oblivious to the discreet changes that were made to the account that was entrusted into his care.

~~~~~~~~~~

By 3 pm, Kanbei was close to giving up. He had been to every major bookstore in Tokyo and he had not found a single copy of any of the five volumes of the book anywhere.

// Damn it! // he thought in growing frustration, completely forgetting his own rule to his youngest child about cussing. // This is just as bad as looking for school textbooks before the opening of class. //

Pausing beside a small tree, Kanbei leaned against it to give his aching ankles a little twist. It was then that he noticed the shop to his left. It only had a simple sign at its façade. The name 'Shamisen' was written on it. But what immediately caught his eye were the small words underneath the shop's name – 'Coffee, Books'. Seeing that there was no harm in checking it out, Kanbei entered the modest establishment.

For a coffee shop, the Shamisen was a spacious, homey place. There were small tables where patrons could enjoy a cup of coffee and some delicious pastries. At the back, there were four to six bookshelves. Some giggling schoolgirls were browsing among the shelves.

"Can I help you, sir?"

Whirling, Kanbei saw the lovely dark haired woman at the counter. Smiling, he said, "I would like to have some coffee, please."

"What kind would you like?" she asked as she went about putting aromatic dark brown beans in the coffee maker. "I recommend the cappuccino."

"Yes, that sounds very nice. Thank you very much…"

"I'm Yukino, the owner of this place. And you are?"

"Shimada Kanbei. Just an ordinary accountant. Nice to meet you." Kanbei found it appalling that he was actually blushing. Then again, there was something about Yukino that made him feel flustered, just like a teenager again.

With a graceful hand, she waved to the empty tables. "Why don't you have a seat? I'll bring your coffee to your table. Or…" She gave him a knowing smile. "…Perhaps you would like to check out the books that we have."

Kanbei turned even redder. Was he that easy to read? "Actually, Yukino-san, I've been searching for a book, but all the bookstores I've been to said that it's sold out and they wouldn't expect another shipment until next month. It's 'The Lullaby of Cedars'."

Then came the unexpected answer. "We do have that title here. But only a few copies though."

"REALLY?" Kanbei could not believe his good luck. "Where are they?"

"It's the corner bookshelf, bottom row. Since it is hard to restock those particular novels, I usually keep them in a place where they'll be hard to find."

"Arigato gozaimasu, Yukino-san!" he said in sincere gratitude as he hastened to the bookshelf.

Fixing his glasses, Kanbei looked through the neatly stacked books, squinting at the tiny kanji printed on the spines. He nearly whooped with glee, finding the title he was desperately searching for. But as he reached for the book, his fingers encountered another hand. He found himself staring at startled almond eyes. The moment of abrupt silence was suddenly disrupted by an ear-piercing shriek.

"OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! IT'S HIRO-SAMA!" the teenager squealed, jumping up and down. She began waving to her friends. "COME HERE, GUYS! IT'S HIRO-SAMA!"

Before Kanbei knew what was happening, he found himself surrounded by wide-eyed teenaged girls who were blinking up at him like owls.

Feeling uncomfortable at their intense scrutiny, Kanbei stuttered, "Excuse me, ladies, but I think you mistook me for someone else." He slowly backed away from the girls, only to have his back meet the hard wall behind him. Already disheveled from the long walk, Kanbei's hair tie gave way, causing his luxurious mane to tumble down his back.

A collective gasp rose among the girls.

"Unbelievable!" a pretty tomboy dressed in denim overalls murmured in awe. "You really do look like him!"

"This proves that Yamaguchi-sama really patterned Hiro-sama after a person in real life," her companion concluded firmly.

A girl with ponytails began asking him excitedly, "Do you know Yamaguchi-sama. Ojisan? Sorry if we're being rude, but it's not everyday that we see our favorite character in the flesh."

Kanbei waved his hands in reassurance. "No, it's quite all right. I must admit I was surprised though. But I've never met this Yamaguchi in my life."

The teenagers groaned. "We thought you were the man whom Yamaguchi-sama based Hiro-sama on."

"Uhh…I'm really very confused here. But would you mind telling me just who is this Hiro-sama you're talking about?"

It was the girl who squealed earlier who offered an explanation. "Yamada Hiroyuki…He is the hero of 'Lullaby of Cedars'. You haven't read the books?"

Kanbei shook his head. "No. Actually, I'm looking for them. Someone recommended it to me. Could you tell me something about it? I'm afraid I don't have a clue as to what the books are all about."

Yukino joined in their conversation, bearing on a silver tray his cappuccino in a styrofoam cup. "Yamada Hiroyuki is just a simple office employee who is struggling to make ends meet and to raise his little boy, a rather idealistic child. One day, father and son have a bitter quarrel and Hiro-sama's son disappears without a trace. He soon learns that an evil wizard had kidnapped his son and had taken him to a place called Toy Kingdom. Using a magical medallion, Hiro-sama is transported to Toy Kingdom, where he is discovered to possess the music skills of a mystical bard, and he embarks on a long journey to find his lost son."

A girl with wire-rimmed glasses took up the narration. "During his quest, he is joined by magical toys – the same toy figures that his son had loved. There's Tsuki, the thief who can play the flute, Koko the robot, Gin, the best cook in the whole of Toy Kingdom, the traveling magician Seki, Akira who was once an assassin for the evil wizard. And of course, there's the brave toy soldier and lute player Tomo…"

Seeing the red dots on the cheeks of Yukino and the girls, Kanbei looked at them suspiciously. "What's wrong with all of you? You've turned red."

Ponytails pulled out a much read copy of 'Lullaby of Cedars Volume Five' and flipped to a remembered page. She then presented the book to him, pointing to a portion of the text. Shrugging, Kanbei pushed his glasses up his nose and read the page.


// "Hiro! Hiro!!!"

But Hiroyuki would not stop running. He wanted to get as far away from the soldier as possible.

A hand closed tightly around his wrist, preventing his desperate flight. Whirling, Hiroyuki made to hit the toy who held him. Tomo, however, seized his fist before it could land on his cheek. Wrenching the bard into his embrace, the soldier gave Hiro a passionate kiss that would broach no further resistance.

Hiroyuki would have pushed him away, disgusted as he was that the toy would take liberties upon his manly honor. What stopped him was the taste of Tomo's anguished tears on his tongue. Then, he was pulled into a desperate embrace. He could feel the toy soldier's body trembling.

"I don't care about the moral sensibilities that you humans have," Tomo sobbed in his ear. "I must tell you what I've long held inside my heart. I love you, Yamada Hiroyuki. I fell in love with you that first time I saw you in the toy store. I prayed that it would be me you would choose out of all my comrades. You never knew how happy you made me feel when you chose me."

"Tomo…"

There was the sharp hiss of his white robes being torn.

"Forgive me, Hiro-sama, but I can't hold back any longer." //


Kanbei immediately shut the book close, his cheeks burning from what he had read. "WHAT KIND OF BOOK IS THIS?"

"It's a Boy's Love novel, Ojisan," the girl with glasses patiently explained to him. "Don't tell me you didn't know?"

Lost for words, Kanbei could only shake his head, utterly bewildered. Is this the sort of reading material that teens read these days?

Yukino patted his shoulder reassuringly. "Don't be deceived by what you've just read. True, it deals with a homosexual relationship, but it's a very lovely story. It wouldn't be the bestseller that it is if it did not touch the hearts of those that have read the tale."

The teenager who had shrieked earlier picked the four volumes of 'Lullaby' on the shelf and handed it to Kanbei. "Here, Ojisan. I could always buy a new set later on."

"But, you picked them first. I just couldn't…"

The girl, however, shook her head. Smiling sadly, she revealed, "I come from a broken family. I live with my mother right now, and I only see my father once a month. I…I often wish that Hiroyuki would be my Dad. Then he would come and look for me. Hiroyuki is the type of man that every girl would want to have for a father."

"And the type of man every woman or man would want to have for a lover," Yukino added wistfully. "Take them, Kanbei-san. If you read them, you'll understand why we love these books so much."

Kanbei graciously accepted the books. Bowing to them, he said, "Thank you so much for being so generous. I will gladly read them."

"Too bad that what you have is only Volumes Two to Five," Ponytails clucked her tongue ruefully. "You need to read Volume One to know how the story began, and it's the most difficult to find."

"Psst! Psst!"

They all turned to see a stuffed pink bunny waving to them from behind a bookshelf before disappearing inside the room at the back.

Yukino gave the cup of coffee to Kanbei. "Looks like my prized customer wants to have a word with you, Kanbei-san. Why don't you go and join him?"

"Arigato gozaimasu, ladies," Kanbei said in gratitude as he went to the backroom.

As Yukino closed the door behind him, a desk lamp was switched on and he finally beheld the man sitting at a small table, the pink bunny propped on his lap.

"Yuki-san…"

Yuki Eiri gave him that wry grin that Kanbei knew all too well. "Fancy seeing you here again after the commotion you caused at the arcade."

Taking the seat opposite the romance novelist, Kanbei saw the tabloid sitting on top with the headline – "Long Lost K Sings At An Arcade! Is A Comeback Imminent?"

Noting the worry on his friend's face, Yuki said reassuringly, "No one would believe this trash because it doesn't have any photos. You could thank your lucky stars that I intervened before that click-happy photographer could escape with his camera and have your pictures printed out in all the major dailies in the country."

"Yes, and I'm really grateful to you for that."

"So what brings you to my favorite haunting place?" Yuki's eyes focused on the shrink-wrapped books sitting on Kanbei's tray. "And what are you doing with my novels? I never figured you to be the type to read homoerotica."

Kanbei's heart jumped at that last. "HAH?!" he exclaimed in shock. "Are you telling me that you're Yamaguchi Eiji? I thought you only wrote STRAIGHT romances?!"

Nonplused by the former singer's reaction, the dashing writer lit a cigarette. "Times change, K. Although I must admit, it's my relationship with Shuichi that led to my experimenting with Boy's Love. I never expected that it would become such a huge bestseller. Volume One sold a lot more than my previous romance novels combined."

"Love can do that to you, I guess."

"Shuichi is such a pest sometimes, but yes, I do love him dearly." There was no mistaking the fondness in Yuki's eyes for his exuberant young lover.

Then came another surprise. "Did you know that those girls were right? I really patterned Hiroyuki after you – from his physical appearance down to the subtle nuances of his character."

"I guess that explains why they almost shattered my eardrums," Kanbei grimaced, poking a finger in his ear. "But why me? I mean, couldn't you pattern your character after someone else?"

At first, Yuki did not say anything. Taking a long drag from his cigarette, he pushed the stub into the ashtray. "Let me tell you something. When you disappeared twelve years ago, you left NG Records in a state of chaos that Tohma thought he could not be able to salvage it."

"My wife passed away and, in the best interests of my family, I believed it wise to quit. I'm so sorry. I guess I should have called…"

"You should have shown your face to us and explained what had happened. We would've understood your predicament. Do you have any idea how much Shuichi and Ryuichi cried? They thought something terrible had happened to you, especially after…Hyogo…."

Kanbei started, hearing that name. Hyogo. Flame's talented keyboardist. The flamboyant young man who helped him create the band.

"Hyogo?" Kanbei asked, his heart suddenly pounding rapidly in his chest. "What happened to Hyogo? Where is he now?"

"He's dead, K," Yuki answered him bluntly. "Hyogo was never able to get Flame going again. The band fell apart without you. Hyogo OD'ed himself on Ecstasy in a hotel room. It took a lot of spin control to hide the truth of his death from the public."

Kanbei wanted to weep at that news. He could still remember Hyogo's smiling, heavily made-up face.

"I'm telling you, K," Hyogo had said to him before one gig. "We're going to take Flame to the top."

Tears filled Kanbei's eyes. He never realized how many lives he had ruined with his thoughtless decision to leave the music world. Sorry was not enough for the dreams he had shattered, including his own.

Yuki drew him out of his troubled thoughts. "I told Shuichi once that the reason why you disappeared is because you were on a quest to find something very important. Child, that he was, he believed me. He did not want to think that he had lost you forever. That's how much you inspired him. Strong as his belief in you was, he encouraged me not to lose hope in you as well. To be honest, your music, your words… They moved me more than any band ever did. It was during such a maudlin moment that I wrote the first twenty pages of 'Lullaby of Cedars', and I'm still writing it up to now. And I will continue to write it…because your quest hasn't ended, even after twelve long years."

"What do you want me to do, Yuki-san?" Kanbei muttered, his hands closing into fists on his lap. "Would you have me break my promise to my children?"

"I have no say in whatever you decide to do. It's your life after all, not mine. But I wonder…" Yuki patted the stack of books. "…The reason why you're here is because of the anime theme competition, am I right?"

Kanbei stared at his best friend in shock. "How do you know?"

"I was at a meeting with the publisher and Shichiroji showed up, desperately requesting for a copy of the DVD of the OP and ED videos of the anime. He said he had lost the disk and he couldn't find it." The novelist looked at Kanbei knowingly. "I take it you have it in your possession. Otherwise, you wouldn't be this interested to search for a book that is so difficult to find."

"I just thought I'd give them a hand. It's not that I'm joining their band or anything. But after I saw the video, I…all these songs and words started flowing through my head. I had to know more about the anime before I could finalize anything. Besides, it's distracting. All those lyrics, those melodies…"

"And that's the way you've always been. Once a musician, always a musician. No matter what you do, K, you can escape from your past."

Yuki withdrew his hand, and Kanbei saw that sitting on top of the stack was Volume One of 'Lullaby of Cedars.' "Whatever you decide, K, I will honor the choice you'll make. All I ask is that you consider that young man who dreams of following in your footsteps. And…since you are so interested in my book, I leave it in your capable hands." He gave Kanbei a wink. "Make the music that I know that only you can write for 'Lullaby'."

"I don't think I possess the confidence that I used to have," Kanbei began, his resolve wavering. "But I will try my best."

Yuki burst into good-natured laughter. "My dear K! When have I ever seen you give less than your very best?!"

~~~~~~~~~~

An hour had passed since Kanbei had left him, but Yuki Eiri remained in his small room at the Shamisen, scribbling down notes for Volume Six of 'Lullaby of Cedars'.

Suddenly, a gasp of remembrance escaped his lips. "Stupid me," Yuki mused, shaking his head. "I completely forgot to tell him that Kyuzo, Shichiroji's bandmate, is Hyogo's younger brother."

The writer shrugged nonchalantly as he went back to work. "Oh well! Since he's writing the songs for 'Lullaby' with the band anyway, I'm sure he'll find out sooner or later."

~~~~~~~~~~

"Daddy? Dad?" Kirara knocked on her father's bedroom door. "I brought you a sandwich and some coffee."

"Thanks, sweetheart!" Kanbei answered from inside. "Just leave it out there. I just need to finish something here."

As Kirara laid the tray down at the doorstep, Komachi scratched her head. "I wonder what's Daddy doing in there."

"You know how Dad is. Always working, even on weekends." Kirara laid her hand over her little sister's shoulders. "Come on, Komachi. We still have time for a nice movie before we go to bed."

"What movie are we watching?"

" 'The Grudge'."

"Oh, goodie!!"

"NO HORROR MOVIES FOR YOU TWO!" Kanbei yelled at his two daughters. "I don't want you having nightmares tonight!"

Both Kirara and Komachi looked at their father's closed door in bewilderment. "How does he do that?" Komachi exclaimed, her jaw dropping.

The door opened a crack and a DVD was waved at them. "Here! Watch this!" It was vintage Disney – 'Sleeping Beauty'."

"Daadddyyyy…" Kirara growled at her father.

"It's just a suggestion," Kanbei retorted. "Now scram, you two!"

"Come on, Chibi! Let's check out the TV guide!"

"If you don't stop calling me 'Chibi', I'll call you Obaasan!"

"You wouldn't dare!"

~~~~~~~~~~

From inside his bedroom, Kanbei smiled, hearing his daughters bickering as they raced down the stairs. Flopping back onto his belly, his long legs bent behind him, he went back to reconstructing the song that he remembered seeing from among the stacks of music scores littering the musicians' lounge of the studio.

Tapping the rhythm on his pillow, Kanbei sang the playful melody of the chorus.


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