Missing Beat

Chapter One: Critical Phase

A/N:

Well, here's the first official chapter!

You'll have to tell me how I did with the concert and song scenes, because this is the first time I've done something like that.

That's about all I can think of to say right now, so... see ya at the bottom!
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When I walked into my clubroom after classes ended for the day, I was greeted with the sight of Yuuki arguing with Argo yet again, with Asuna sitting off by the window.

"Hey guys! What's going on?" I queried.

"Yuuki wants to get a new guitar auto tuner, but Argo won't shell out the money," Asuna said, sitting back by the corner window.

"Why do you want a new guitar tuner, Yuuki?" I asked her tentatively.

By that point, I was used to settling quarrels within the band. Though there weren't many, most of them revolved around Argo (the money manager) and another bandmate.

"She says it's broken," said another bandmate of mine, Shino, from the dark corner of the room.

How did I not notice her?!

"And whose fault is that?" Yuuki said with an edge to her voice, while she pointed accusingly at Shino.

"Hey, Shino," I said to her. "So, exactly what part is broken?"

"We don't know, actually. It just stopped working all of a sudden," said my pink-haired bandmate, Lisbeth, most likely annoyed at the commotion. "Yuuki thinks Shino sabotaged her for god-knows-what reason, though."

"Well, I used to have a job fixing things like that," I said tiredly. "Let me have a look at it."

"All right..." Yuuki said, begrudgingly walking over and handing me her guitar.

"No way..." Asuna whispered in awe.

"What?"

"I've never seen her let anyone else touch her guitar!"

"Huh," I said in an I'm-not-paying-attention tone while I took apart her auto tuner with a tool from my pocket.

I always knew that my tools would come in handy eventually.

After a couple of minutes, I finished, saying, "Done! Test it out."

Once she tuned her guitar, she started to play. "Whoa, you fixed it! Thanks, Kazuto!"

"No prob," I replied, rubbing the back of my neck in embarrassment.

I then remembered my idea from that morning. "Guys, remember when I told you that something was missing from Critical Phase? Well, I figured out what it was!

"What was it?" Asuna inquired.

"Well, I was practicing my part in the song, and then I imagined everyone playing alongside me. I figured out a place in the song for everyone."

Asuna was skeptical. "What?" she asked.

"Okay, hear me out."

I quickly found six blank music sheets and a pencil, and began to scribble notes on them. When I finished, I wrote their names on their respective sheets and handed each one out.

Lisbeth was the first to respond, saying, "Whoa..."

"It's... perfect!" Yuuki chimed in.

The master sheet had everyone's parts in it, and I handed it to Argo. "Well? You think this'll sell?"

"Damn..." Argo whispered. "How do you get such effing genius ideas? Of course it'll sell!"

"All right!" Yuuki cheered.

"Let's get to practicing!" we all shouted simultaneously.

After playing through the song four times, I decided we should stop for the day.

"All right guys, I think it's time to call it a day. We're doing really well, and I expect us to do just as well on stage next Friday."

"You got it, club Prez!" Yuuki exclaimed.

"What she said," Shino said, voice as flat as ever.

Thank god her playing isn't like her voice.

"Right!" Lisbeth shouted.

"Of course! Who do you think I am?" Asuna stated cockily.

"You'd better," Argo added. "Our budget is solid, but I still don't want any drops."

All about the money, as usual.

"Okay, I'm gonna head out," I told them. "I gotta meet up with someone."

"Oh, is it a date?!" Lisbeth exclaimed in disbelief.

"No," I said coldly. "I told you, I've no intention of dating anyone."

"Aw, and here I thought I had something on you..."

"Bye!"

After I left the clubroom, I sighed in relief.

Yet another day that I lived through club activities. Today was kinda uneventful, though.

When I got to the school gates, I found Sachi waiting for me. "Hey. You ready to go?"

"Yup," I affirmed. "But why did you wait for me? You usually go home without me on practice days."

"Oh... well..."

"What is it?" I asked gently.

"The guy I like..."

"Did he turn you down?" I asked edgily.

"Sort of," she whispered.

I looked at her, trying to read her expression. Her bangs covered her eyes, making it almost impossible.

When I gave up on trying to read her face, I asked, "What do you mean?"

"Don't worry about it! Let's just go home."

"All right, let's go."

Back at Sachi's house, I dropped my stuff in the bedroom while Sachi started cooking.

We had an unspoken deal that when I was over for reasons like this, I would make breakfast, and she would make dinner. I had no objections, as she happened to be an extremely good cook.

I sat down on my bed, thinking about my band's new song, Critical Phase.

We have it down pretty well. It's a good thing, too, because our next gig is on Friday, which is only two days away. We might even run into a good manager to help us go pro! Aw, who am I kidding? That won't happen for a long time...

"Kazuto! Dinner's ready!" Sachi shouted from downstairs.

"Coming!"

Halfway into the meal, I remembered something. "I know you said your crush turned you down—"

"Don't remind me."

"I wasn't done. Do you still want to come? You've never been to a concert before, and I want you to experience what they're like."

"Of course I still want to come!" she reassured me.

"In that case, I've got a better deal for you," I said smugly. "I've only got one, so no bringing a friend, but..."

"But?"

"I've got an all-access pass to our next gig, which is this Friday. You want it?"

Sachi's eyes widened, and she quickly said, "Of course! Thank you so much!"

I sighed. I was reserving it for her, but I'd rather make Sachi feel better than try to win my crush over with something so shallow.

"Then it's settled!"

The next two days went by in a flash, and before I knew it, it was Friday... the day of our gig. When I woke up, that was the first thing I thought about. I got up, careful not to disturb Sachi, and got my guitar case out from under the bed.

I walked into the front room, taking my Gibson Les Paul out of its case. I plugged its cord into my amp in the front room, turned the amp to low, and started to strum away.

A few minutes into playing the guitar part of an old favorite song of mine, I heard shuffling coming from the bedroom.

"Well, someone got up early..." Sachi yawned, coming out from the hallway.

"Sorry, did my playing wake you up?" I asked sheepishly, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Spot on."

"Sorry. When I'm at home on the day of a gig, the first thing I do when I get up is practice," I informed her.

"No, it's fine. You play amazingly well, so it was cool to get up to that."

"Ah."

I got back to playing, zoning into the music once more. Once I finished, I packed up my stuff for later and headed for the kitchen.

"I'll make breakfast. You can take a shower while I'm making it," I offered.

"Thanks!"

Yet again, I found myself lost in thought as I cooked.

Well, the gig is today... I'm kinda nervous. It's the first time we're performing on a big stage. That, and I'll have someone watching me other than Argo and my bandmates.

I sighed.

Sachi... what am I gonna do with her? Of course the first guy she falls for in almost a year just has to reject her. That must've hurt worse than the other breakups. I wish I could do something, but I'm not a part of the picture. If she wants my help, then I'll help her, but until then... I'm stuck.

I looked down at the dish I was preparing, noting that it looked just about ready.

"Smells good! I'll set the table!" Sachi said, coming into the kitchen in her towel again.

"Thanks," I said. "It's a little unusual for breakfast, but I made it anyway."

When we finished eating, I decided to take a shower. "Hey, Sachi?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you wash the dishes while I'm in the shower?"

"I always do, remember?"

"Oh yeah," I said quietly, a little embarrassed.

I went into the bedroom to get some of my clothes to take into the bathroom, finding that all I had left were my performance clothes and my school uniform, which had been washed the night before.

I really need to get more clothes from my house tomorrow.

I got my uniform out of the dresser, taking it into the bathroom.

While I washed, I found myself daydreaming about what would happen if we found a good manager at our gig that night.

If we get a manager and go pro, will we still have to go to school? What if we go on tour? What'll happen then? Will I be able to take my non-band friends with me?

When I felt the water start to grow cold, I decided to stop thinking and start washing.

Walking out of the bathroom fully dressed, I met Sachi at the door.

"Ready?" we asked each other at the same time. At this, we shared a small laugh.

Once again, we simultaneously said, "Yeah."

We left her house, each of us smiling.

Once we were halfway to school, I said, "Today is the big day."

"Yeah. I finally get to see one of your performances."

"Well, you think you're ready?" I teased.

"Always!" she replied.

"Hey, it's Kazuto!"

Oh god... please, not now!

I turned around just in time to get glomped by a lavender-haired girl with a figure that most girls can only dream of having. And of course, her two... personalities... were pressed against my chest in the bone-crushing hug.

"Can't... breathe..."

"Oh, sorry," the girl said, rubbing the back of her head as she backed off. "I was just so excited to see you!"

"Uh, Kazuto?"

"Wh-what is it?" I stuttered.

"Who is this girl?"

"Oh, you haven't met each other before, have you?" answering her question with my own. "This is Strea. I met her over the summer holiday. She's really energetic, but she's also really nice."

And an awesome keyboardist.

"Oh! Nice to meet you!" Sachi said, giving Strea a warm smile. "My name is Sachi."

"So, what are you doing here, Strea? Last I checked, you lived in rural Japan, near my grandparents' villa."

We started walking again, heading towards the school.

"Oh, that's right!" she exclaimed. "My parents and I just moved here. I'm transferring into your school!"

"Sweet!" I said. "So, when do you fully transfer into your classes here?"

She looked at me with a blindingly bright smile. "This coming Monday! Normally, I would start in later, seeing as the movers haven't finished moving all our stuff yet, but I couldn't wait to see you! By the way, I'm actually going to a concert tonight!"

"Wow, I didn't think your parents would let you! They're pretty strict. How'd you convince them?"

"Secret."

Damn.

It was then that I realized that my band was the only one playing in the area tonight.

"Hey, Strea?"

"Yeah? What's up?"

"What's the name of the band you're going to see?"

"Infinity Moment, of course! They're becoming more and more well-known all across Japan, and they're supposedly only a school club! Plus, that lead guitarist, Kirito, is so amazing! He can play guitar better than some of the best in Japan, AND he's the songwriter and composer for the band, AND he can even rap really well when the song calls for it!"

And there it is! My stage name! Still, I've only rapped in one song, though... I wasn't that good...

"Well, that's the first time in forever that I've heard someone say my stage name," I muttered. "It's kind of embarrassing..."

"Wait..." Strea trailed off, most likely connecting the dots in her head.

"Yeah, Kazuto is Kirito, the lead guitarist and leader of the famous band, Infinity Moment," Sachi said quietly.

"No way..." Strea trailed off again, before continuing with, "That's so awesome!"

"Keep it on the down-low, okay?" I requested. "No one at our school knows about it, and if they did, we would never be able to practice in peace."

"Oh, right!"

The rest of the walk was spent in idle conversation, and before we knew it, we had arrived at the school.

"Well, I'd better get going!" Strea shouted to us as she walked away. "See ya!"

"She's kinda..." Sachi trailed off.

"Overly flamboyant? Yeah, I know. Still, that's one of the things that make her... her."

We parted ways, heading to our classes.

After classes ended, I went to the clubroom to meet up with my bandmates one last time before our gig.

When I arrived, I realized something odd...

It's... peaceful.

I looked around the room, noting that everyone was present.

"Well, it looks like everyone is here! It's time to talk about our song lineup." I started. "We'll open up with Luminous Sword, then continue with Shunkan Sentimental. Third will be Black on White, and then we'll keep going with an old favorite of ours, Crossing Field. I'm in a good mood, so we'll do Rush for the second-to-last song. We'll finish with our new song, Critical Phase. Sound good to everyone?"

"Yeah!"

"Good! We'll meet at the Tokyo Concert Hall at six o'clock!"

When I walked to the school gates, I saw Sachi waiting for me, same as always.

"So, you ready for the concert?"

"Yeah," she affirmed, giving me a thumbs up.

"All right."

When we arrived at Sachi's house, I immediately set my stuff down by the door, going to her room to get my stage outfit.

I opened her dresser, looking at my stage clothes closely to try to find any imperfections. When I found none, I picked up the coat part and put it on to test its fit.

Looks like I'm outgrowing my Coat of Midnight. Might be time to ask Ashley to get me a new look after this performance.

Ashley was the band's tailor. We met her after our first non-school gig, when she came up to us after we performed.

"You can't go playing songs outside of school in your school uniforms!"

Ever since she told us that, she had been personally tailoring all our stage clothes. Sadly, my stage clothes were always my favorite clothes... and if I wore them off-stage, everyone would know that I was Kirito, the famous lead guitarist of Infinity Moment.

I took the coat, along with the rest of my stage outfit, and packed them in a suitcase. I grabbed the suitcase by the handle, walking to the front door where Sachi stood waiting.

"Well, since you have an all-access pass, you can ride with the band while our driver gets us to the Tokyo Concert Hall."

"Who is your driver?" Sachi asked curiously.

"His name is Andrew Gilbert Mills, but he goes by Egil. He's an African American who moved here a few years back. He and his wife own a bar and grill, and my family goes there all the time. That's how I know him."

"I see."

I heard a car engine outside, and I instantly knew that he had arrived.

"I told him to pick me up here since my family is on vacation. Anyway, let's go!"

We walked outside, and when she saw our... method of transportation... she asked, "Why are you using a van?"

"We don't want people to know when we're coming, so he uses a different car for each gig we have. He has a lot of connections, most of whom like our band, so they let him borrow their cars for the rides."

We got in, and my nostrils were immediately assaulted by the smell of fresh pizza.

"What's up, guys?" I asked the group before me, all of whom were already holding slices of pizza. "Couldn't you wait for your Prez to get in before digging in?"

"No!"

"Didn't think so," I sighed. "Guys, this is my best friend, Sachi." I said, pointing to Sachi. "Sachi, these are my bandmates," I pointed to each of them, telling her their names.

Once we were on the road, Yuuki was the first to speak. "So, this is the best friend you've told us about? Pretty cool!"

Sachi stuttered out a "T-thank you," and I sighed.

"Don't mind Yuuki, she's a massive teaser."

"So, why did you bring her along?" Shino asked us from the corner.

"I gave her an all-access pass."

"WHAT?!" shouted all of my bandmates simultaneously.

"No, it's not anything like a date," I answered coolly, answering their thoughts.

"Dammit! Why are you so tough to woo over?" Lisbeth joked... or at least, I thought she was joking.

"Anyway," Asuna said, saving me from the dreaded topic of love. "How's your voice? You think you'll be able to pull off Rush?"

"Just 'cause I don't usually do lead vocals doesn't mean that my voice isn't cut out for it," I boasted. "Besides, I can rap faster than you any day."

"And I can sing twice as well as you."

"Touché."

By that time, we had arrived at the back entrance to the concert hall. We got out with our equipment, bidding farewell to Egil.

"See you next concert!"

He drove off, leaving us to go back to his restaurant.

"Well, I've got the key to the back door," I told them. "Let's go prepare."

"Yeah!"

As we set up, I decided to take a tiny peek through the curtains to see what kind of crowd we were dealing with.

"Holy crap, this is a huge turnout..." I whispered.

The entire hall was filled to capacity with people, all of whom were wearing shirts with our symbol—a black sword wrapped in silver chains.

"There must be more than five hundred people here!" I informed my bandmates as I walked back to my equipment.

"Whoa, seriously?!" Asuna shouted gleefully.

Shino just stood in a corner as usual, acting like she didn't care. One look at her eyes was all it took to figure out she was overflowing with excitement, though.

"Nice!" Lisbeth shouted, joining in.

"All right!" Yuuki shouted back. "It's time to get us a good manager!"

"I doubt that there will be someone willing to take on our band, Yuuki," I told her, sighing. "We're not that popular yet. Though I'm wondering who made the shirts."

"That was Argo," Shino said. "She figured that we'd make good money selling those with our current popularity. Funny thing is, she was right."

I remembered that I had to show Sachi where she could sit, so I said, "Guys, I'm going to go show Sachi a good balcony seat, all right? I'll be back soon!"

I went over and took Sachi's hand, leading her up the stairs in the back. I led her to the area above the stage, then took her to the right so that she would be able to see better. Once I found a seat with a good view of the stage, I said, "You can sit here for the concert if you'd like. That all right?"

"Yeah, this is great!"

"Cool. Well, I'd better get back to my bandmates. The concert starts in about fifteen minutes."

"All right!"

"I'll meet you back here after the concert ends so you can come back with us, okay?"

"Okay!"

"Good. Well, see ya after the concert!"

When I got back to my bandmates, I started rushing around to set my stuff up. Once that was done, I asked my bandmates, "Hey, is everyone ready to go?"

"Yeah!"

"All right, when the curtains open up, I'll give them a speech, and then we start with the songs I told you!"

A few minutes later, I heard an announcer start introducing us, and then the curtains started to slowly open up. When we were in full view, I started a speech that I had memorized days in advance.

"Hey, everyone! Thanks for all the support you've given us! As you heard the announcer say, we used to be just a school club, but then people heard us, and you know the rest! I'm not gonna keep you here for hours just talking, so here we go!

"One!"

I looked to my bandmates, seeing that they were all ready.

"Two!"

I steeled myself, putting my fingers on the correct positions for the opening of Luminous Sword.

"One! Two! Three! Four!"

We opened with a bang, Asuna belting out the lyrics to the song while Lisbeth drummed like a pro, and Yuuki started jamming on her guitar... and I did the same.

The crowd was initially stunned into silence as we continued to play our hearts out. Gradually they began to cheer and clap. Then, I saw Strea in the crowd, and I almost tripped up a little at how good she looked from afar before remembering where I was and what I was doing.

The song finished with a flourish, and then the crowd came to life, roaring our names in cheers, with the names Kirito and Asuna being the most prominent.

Well, we are the lead guitarist and singer. We tend to get the most attention.

When the crowd calmed down a bit, I took the mic in front of me and yelled, "Next up: Shunkan Sentimental!"

The crowd cheered once more, and then the song opened with a small guitar solo by me, then Asuna started belting out the lyrics.

"Kawashita hazu no nai yakusoku ga

Kyou mo bokura no mirai wo ubaou to suru"

I focused on my guitar playing once more. When next I focused on Asuna, she was singing the ending chorus.

"Donna shunkan datte unmei datte

Hitotsu dake tashika na mono ga aru to shitta

Genkai datte konnan datte akirametaku nai yo

Kono mama hanasai de

Kataku nigirishimeta kimi no migite no nukumori

Koko ni aru kara!"

The song finished with the same guitar solo it had started with, and then all was quiet for five seconds.

Suddenly, the crowd burst into cheers once more, and we waited for them to quiet down before Asuna took her mic and shouted, "Next up, we have Black on White!"

"Kono te ni aru unmei..."

After she said those words, we started in unison, all of our instruments roaring.

Our instruments quieted down for Asuna, who continued singing. The only sounds accompanying her were my guitar strums and an occasional drum beat from Lisbeth.

"GIFT o sagasu no..."

Our instruments came to life once more, accompanying her voice in a beautiful combination.

"Uchinuke!"

After one last flare of our instruments, the song ended.

The crowd cheered with the most intensity I had heard all night. It took longer for them to quiet down this time, but when they did, Asuna yelled into the mic, "And next, we have Crossing Field!"

The crowd cheered, as it was a fan favorite.

I turned around and I could see Argo behind us, ready to work the synthesizers to play the instruments that we didn't have.

Thanks, Argo!

And it began. Once the opening parts were over, Asuna started singing in a low voice.

When the chorus arrived, Lisbeth and her drums burst to life, along with Shino's base and my guitar, while the synthesizer did the rest.

The second verse started, and our instruments quieted down. Asuna began singing in her low voice again, but all too quickly, the next chorus came up, and everyone played their hearts out again.

It was soon time for my small guitar solo.

Asuna began singing again, albeit very quietly. Then, her voice picked up speed and power, eventually coming into the final chorus. At the very end of the song, she started singing the lyrics in English.

Once the song finally came to a close, the crowd roared the loudest I'd ever heard, even at other bands' concerts.

I took my own mic, shushing the crowd with a smile. "We have a special treat for you guys tonight! Along with our new song, you get to see a duet with me and Asuna! That's right...we're playing Rush!"

This being the most popular song we'd ever played, we got an even louder response than we did at the end of Crossing Field. It was deafening, though fantastic to hear.

I swear, my eardrums are gonna be busted by the end of the night...

I counted down in my head while looking at Asuna. Once I reached zero, I nodded.

You know when to come in!

She nodded back, and I opened up with five English words...

"You got a master key!"

Our instruments roared to life, making a symphony of modern sounds that went perfectly with my voice. Then, my first part ended with, "Konna kanji Hey yo!"

Asuna started the chorus, allowing my voice some time to rest.

"Tooikaze ga mirai wo tsunagu toki

Koe ni naranu kotoba no iro

Mou iyada to nanimo mie nai to

Toki datte utsura nai kara!"

I started back up again with the same English phrase, then started the next verse.

Asuna started in with a different chorus, belting it out like she had known the words all her life. Then when the chorus ended, my guitar got a little time to play by itself in a solo worth noting.

Asuna started singing softly as soon as the solo stopped. Gradually, her voice grew louder, until it was time for the chorus again. When she finished, she began a different chorus, singing it with unmatched passion.

Finally, it was time for the last part of the song, one last burst of music led by my guitar. When the song ended, all was silent for what seemed like forever... until...

The crowd burst into roaring cheers, many of them chanting, "Again!" over and over. I ignored this, as my voice was tired enough as it was.

"We have one last song for you tonight!" I shouted into my mic, trying to hide the soreness of my voice. "All right, we've been working on a new song for a couple of weeks now, and you guys are lucky enough to hear it first!"

The crowd cheered with a ferocity I had never thought we would get.

"All right! It's time for..."

Asuna took over, just as we'd planned. "CRITICAL PHASE!"

When we went backstage after the last song, I could see everyone's exhaustion.

"So, what do you guys think?" I asked. "You wanna keep doing this?"

All at once, everyone shouted, "Hell yeah!"

"Awesome!" I shouted back, before I remembered something important. "Hey, I'm gonna pick up Sachi from the second floor, okay?"

When I got to the second floor, I found Sachi looking down at the stage with an amazed look in her eyes.

"Hey there!" I said, putting my hand on her shoulder.

She jumped, being the easily frightened girl that she is, and gave a startled scream.

"Relax, Sachi. It's just me," I whispered gently into her ear.

"Not cool, Kazuto!"

"Whatever. Let's go back downstairs. We have to pack up and head out."

I grabbed her hand and led her down the stairs, taking her to where my bandmates were.

"So, how did you like it?" Asuna asked Sachi as soon as we came down the stairs.

"It was... amazing!" she shouted enthusiastically. "But the cheering was kinda loud..."

"Eh, you get used to it... eventually," Shino said from her corner.

Then I heard someone walk in through the back entrance.

When whoever it was walked in, I immediately said, "Performers and employees only."

"Well, I'm not either of those, but I think you'll want me around anyway."

Looking more closely, I saw a tall man with red hair, a red bandanna, and a bit of stubble on his chin.

"You're..." I whispered in disbelief.

"Yup! I'm Klein, and I work for the famous record company, Nightfall Records! I saw your performance, and I think you guys have what it takes to go pro! What do you say? Willing to take the chance?"

Not even a second later, we all shouted the exact same thing:

"Hell yeah!"

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A/N: Here's part two. Part three and four will be updated very soon. And that was the original author for their note