Author's Note: Hmmm…where to begin? Oh...this story has been sitting in the
back of my computer and my mind, collecting "dust," and I thought it
was time to actually start finishing it. *sigh* This actually began as a sequel
to the anime, but it's grown so many twists and turns that I doubt it could be
considered that anymore. However, it does take place after the end of the
series. Well, I won't babble anymore. Read and enjoy!
Warnings: shounen-ai (come on…it's Gravitation), fluffiness (at times), somewhat
bad use of the Japanese language, "weird" pairings, etc.
Track One: Homecoming
It was dark when the solitary figure
finally made it home to the aerial building in downtown Tokyo, although the
vague furnishings of his non-claustrophobic apartment rarely seemed that to him
anymore, and despite being gone so long, he truly dreaded entering the door.
Yuki Eiri had never been one for commitment nor was he one to waste flattering
words on a foolish girl -or boy in this case- but he felt far beyond unprepared
for what lay on the other side of the uncongenial world portal that somehow
transported him to a realm that became something other than what he had been
used to several months back. It was too easy to admit defeat and say he was
scared, Eiri wasn't afraid of anything dead or alive, but the prospect of how
much everything would actually mean to him when he turned the handle flooded
his mind like a bad memory.
He'd had too many of those
since his "relationship" with the kawaii and also extremely genki
vocalist of the ever-popular band Bad Luck had fallen into play that
haphazardly awkward day when he had found his unfinished lyrics blowing away in
the wind, and that had been the reason for his entire disappearance from Japan.
It had been easy to slip away from his normal everyday routine -drinking,
whether it be too much coffee or not enough beer, smoking, always typing away
at his laptop in hopes to procure a better novel than before- but there had
been that one thing which constantly gave him precedence over his past and the
tragic outcome of coming too close to someone he thought he could trust with
his life. Obviously, he had been wrong, and he had never wanted to confront
that hidden fear again -too ashamed to admit he had been driven into himself
from such a malevolent betrayal- but when the clumsily lithe singer had
inadvertently jumped in front of his car that rainy day he had tried to
convince himself he would have been better off ending his uneventful and rather
pointless life, things had started to change.
"If
you're trying to commit suicide…find another car-"
The thought unintentionally
made Eiri smile, his brain drowning in the facade of hot pink hair and liquid
indigo eyes that only began to describe the group soloist, and he had to catch
himself before the lust driven deep within his heart caused him to rip the door
off its hinges in his haste to have that warm body pressed against his and that
sweet smell encircling him; it was a likely possibility seeing as how the perky
youth tended to fracture walls rather than use the entrance like a normal
person. He had missed the familiarity of everything while he had been in New
York, confronting his buried problems, but above all else, although he probably
would never be able to admit it aloud, no matter how hard he tried, he had
missed his undeniably adorable yet sometimes annoying lover.
Sighing with a low breath as he
tried to gather his failing courage, Eiri once again reached forward to quietly
push the already opened door aside, toeing his shoes off before entering -as
was the custom- and sliding his portable suitcase against the wall while he
slipped inside. He braced himself instantly, unconsciously expecting to be
pelted by a thin form sporting a light strawberry scent and repeatedly loud
screams of 'Yuki, Yuki, Yuki!!' that usually damaged his eardrums, but not one
sound ensued. Glancing at the clock ticking meticulously on the wall answered
as to why.
It was early morning, almost three.
Habitually, he inspected the apartment
for any signs of damage but found none, and when his vision fell upon the
couch, he, too, found that to be empty. Eiri really hadn't been expecting much
of a welcome, not since he had informed Bad Luck's manager of the situation
concerning their star attraction for a specific concert that had been scheduled
only a few days back -he had promptly been rushed from America to Japan
K-style- and it wasn't surprising to find no one waiting at home for him.
Somewhere in his cluttered and fatigued mind, Eiri suspected the hyperactive
nineteen-year- old was staying with his best friend, silent but strong-willed
and resilient Nakano Hiroshi, serious guitarist of their pop band, but somehow
he was hurt. He never thought ahead, it seemed, and all he had wanted to do was
return as fast as he could to be with the lover he had left all alone. It
wasn't fair to anyone, especially to the singer, that a dead sensei who had
"sold" him for ten dollars to a bunch of punks and a certain blonde
haired N-G Records owner had held his attention for the better part of the past
week and a half. Still fresh in his mind, the conversation eluded him.
"Where
are you going, Eiri-san?" There was a pause and the novelist found himself
stopping, a strange smile of sarcastic enmity falling onto his face as a soft
breeze blew against his skin.
"I'm going home." It
had been a simple answer and the truth; he'd missed it too much for all the
wrong reasons.
"Home? To...to him...to
Shindou-san?" A tone of sadness filled his older brother-in-law's voice,
and Eiri turned to stare at him, all emotion disappearing from his somber
visage, including from his normally cold lemon- lime eyes.
"Hai...to Shuichi-"
Shuichi…
Shuichi wasn't here, and he had
been the only thing on his mind the entire flight home from the New York City
air terminal. Eiri wanted to beg forgiveness, though he knew the words would
never come; Eiri wanted to make love, though his lover might decline; Eiri
wanted Shuichi all for himself, though he had to share him with the entire
world.
The writer felt a snicker of
amusement catching in his throat as he quietly padded towards his bedroom, his
coat finding its way off of his slim body and onto the floor, and he shook his
head. He sounded like a fool, thinking nonsense about things that only deserved
an unmemorable place in the books he detested to write but enjoyed to
criticize. Completely forgetting to undress and change into something more
comfortable, Eiri folded himself onto the welcoming mattress, an exhausted sigh
escaping his lips -he had not realized he had been that tired- and concealed
entirely in the dark, he began wandering off into a somewhat pleasant light
sleep until something beside him shifted, sniffled, and snuggled closer to him,
a nose digging into the slope of his neck. Slender hands moved up to wrap
around his waist and a thin leg slid between his thighs, pressing Eiri tighter
against the warm body rhythmically breathing beside him.
"Yuki..." A muffled
tenor sobbed softly a moment later, nearly tearing the remainder of Eiri's
heart from his chest. Shuichi was home, he had been sleeping in his bed -their
bed in all actuality- and from the subdued noises now emitting from his throat,
he still was, dreams making the thin limbs around him tense, but despite the
darkness and the obviously unwanted tautness of the genki vocalist in his arms,
Eiri saw his petite lover perfectly -the mass of pink fluff considered hair,
bottomless cerulean eyes beneath closed smoothed lids, flawlessly tanned skin.
Eiri saw perfection and loved it.
"Shuichi," he
whispered, his breath fanning across the curved cheek exposed to him, and he
felt the youth stir but not awaken; he was still dreaming.
"Yuki-" There was
another sniffle and it was followed by a gasp of air. "I love you…don't
leave me." Sighing, Eiri pressed himself closer, fingers deftly trailing
up Shuichi's clothed stomach before he leaned in, capturing the mumbling lips
with his own, sending a shiver down his spine. He hadn't intentionally meant to
hurt him with the pretenses of cold affection and unanswerable questions about
his past that even Eiri was afraid to figure out, but he had and now that
everything was finally taken care of, he wanted to make it up to the innocent
although hentai-minded boy.
Eiri nibbled gently against the
plush mouth he was currently sampling and murmured a silent approval against
them, the hinted taste of strawberry lip-gloss and minty toothpaste flowing over
his tongue. He'd missed this -the closeness, the feel of Shuichi against him-
and the brief interlude they had shared in the abandoned apartment building in
New York when the singer had shoved his finished lyrics in his face to read for
wanted acceptance and had fleetingly kissed him hadn't been enough. Eiri was
going to get his share before anything else happened and that exact moment in
time seemed to be the best place to do it. Pushing harder against him, the
blonde haired author swept his tongue across Shuichi's bottom lip, enticing a
faint whimper out of him before pressing further into the warm cavern that
tasted of nothing but his lover. A feeble murmur swept through Eiri as Shuichi
moved against him in his waking state, causing him to shudder slightly, and the
arms looped around his hips tightened drastically, eyes slowly fluttering open
to stare back at him with haze filtering through the blue orbs of liquid fire.
"N-nani?" Shuichi
began, his mouth opening to protest, but Eiri cut him off with an agonizingly
slow kiss that left his words hanging in mid- sentence. The response was
instant, and the singer clung to him, mercilessly twining his seeking tongue
with his lover's, a whimper rising up into his throat at the savagery of their
joined lips. When they eventually broke apart, Eiri upwardly nuzzled the
underside of Shuichi's jaw until he became level with his ear, and he nipped on
his lobe with practiced finesse.
"Baka," he murmured,
riling a shiver out of the lithe boy against him before he began to shake more
drastically as that simple word wrapped around his brain and squeezed it
tightly. Shuichi's heart threatened to pound out of his chest, he wouldn't have
been able to stop it even if he'd tried, and he couldn't control the silent
wail beginning to build in his chest as he clung to the lanky frame of the
writer he had fallen mercilessly in love with. It had been only a few days
since he'd felt, touched, or heard anything from the older man, but it had
seemed an eternity to Shuichi, and he was going to cry. He didn't care if the
other thought him weak -he'd missed his insults- and it didn't even cross his
mind to tell him anything -he knew his talking was unwanted- but his Yuki.
His Yuki had returned to him.
"Naa…naa...Yuki-" He
was silenced by a slender finger against his mouth, and the tenderness of the
action had tears welling up and slipping down his cheeks. Shuichi bit his lip
in an attempt to stifle the sobs escaping him, but he grew even more unsuccessful
as he felt Eiri's breath against his skin while he traced a wet path with his
tongue down his jaw and over the prominent dip to lap at the glistening drops
sliding from his clouded cerulean eyes.
"No more, Shuichi. No
more," he whispered, rubbing his nose against his before tilting his head
down and joining their lips in another kiss filled with more passion and
frenzy. The thin vocalist gripped his waist tightly, the fingertips of his
hands sliding over the silk encased skin beneath his shirt, and he moaned
unintelligible sounds of appreciation even as he continued to cry, his tears
warm between their close faces. Eiri shifted position, rolling them over so
that his body was pressing the smaller one into the softness of the mattress,
and he instantly began to make his own exploration, reacquainting himself with
the familiar territory of his lover's flawless form as Shuichi's legs spread a
little wider to accommodate Eiri's full weight on him. They arched together,
trying to touch as much of the other as possible in one movement, and the pink
haired singer sighed, his weeping subsiding as Eiri tore his mouth away and
sent it on a trail down the graceful neck he liked so much. His teeth nipped
roughly and lips soothed with stimulating strokes, Shuichi's entire body, aside
from his hands, which clutched at his clothing tightly, going limp beneath him.
"Yuki…Yuki...I...Yuki..."
He couldn't get past saying his name, and had it been any other time, Eiri
would have been surprised. Shuichi didn't know how to be quiet, even in times
of necessity, but now the only thing falling from his lips was the one word he
had somehow reserved for himself. "Yuki- "
"Shh," he calmed,
nestling his free hands into thick clumps of hot pink to tilt Shuichi's head
up. "Be quiet…I want-" Eiri cut himself off, trying to avoid the
questioning look in the youth's gaze, but as the other's smooth eyebrows rose
in wonder and partial amazement, the writer knew that his lover was aware of
the things he could never bring himself to admit vocally albeit in his once
barricaded heart.
Shuichi knew he had missed him.
"Yuki..." The younger
boy bit his lip, almost nervously, and Eiri couldn't resist the small smile
forming on his face as he stared down at him, their noses inches apart.
"What is it?" He
couldn't avoid the tenderness, not after what he had put the singer through,
and he'd wanted this so badly while he'd been away that he could remember
sitting beside the window in the rented hotel rooms, tasting strawberry in his
mouth and smelling it in the air as he thought of the pop star. Their
attraction had been sudden, but so powerful that it had left him with no time
to step back and observe the reactions or consequences of it. Eiri had once told
the press -with their prying cameras and annoying questions- that living with
Shuichi was a good experience to learn from, that they had been doing nothing
wrong just because they were both men and sleeping together, and despite it
having torn at his chest to see the stunned look his lover had given him as
he'd spoken those words, he couldn't make himself take them back, no matter how
much he had wanted to. At first, it had seemed like the logical answer, his
automatic protection system had kicked into defense at not wanting to admit the
truth, but afterwards, he'd realized that it had been a mistake, and meeting
Shuichi hadn't become some incident to reflect back on and nod his head at.
He'd become trapped within his timid and innocent embrace and didn't want to
escape the world they'd created.
There was a small sniffle and
painfully sparkling lavender-blue peered up at him.
"Hold me...please…I want
to believe that this isn't a dream, that you're really here. Are you?" Any
other time, he would have pushed him away -smacked him, insulted him- but with
a reluctant sigh, he moved back onto his side, bringing Shuichi with him with a
gentle tug.
"Hai, I'm really here.
This isn't a dream…Shuichi-chan." In the dark it was hard to see, but he
knew that the youth's eyes had tripled in size, but before be could react
further, Eiri tapped him softly on the top of his head. "Now go to sleep.
I'm tired."
"Naa, Yuki, why do you have to be so mean?" his teasing voice asked
even as warm breath slid across the skin of Eiri's neck while Shuichi snuggled
up to him. Everything was finally beginning to fall back into place as it had
before, and for once, Eiri was happy.
* * *
Calm echoes of sneaker-clad
feet hitting the linoleum ricocheted throughout NG-Records in the mid-morning
of the day, and the door to the third studio room swung open to reveal a
panting youth clad in brown khakis and a vest with a plain t-shirt beneath it,
a neon orange backpack slung across his chest and one shoulder. Four familiar
faces turned their heads in his general direction before returning to what they
had been doing, completely at ease with the fact that he was more than an hour
late, and a moment later, a brightly polished six-chambered revolver found its
way against his temple, already loaded and cocked. Vivid indigo-violet eyes
dulled considerable as they turned to stare at the blonde haired man holding
him hostage, and the boy grimaced, disliking the dour look on his manager's
face.
"You're late," he
rasped out in thick Japanese heavily accented with English, and Shuichi smiled
nervously, edging slowly away from the muzzle of the gun.
"G-gomen nasai, K-san!
There was-"
"Yuki Eiri returned from
New York last night," a calm voice finished for him, and the singer let
out a sigh of relief as their American supervisor lowered the pistol and slid
it reluctantly into the holster clinging to his ribs when his best friend
interjected the presiding predicament. There was a heavy thump proceeding, but
no one seemed to notice their producer had passed out -most likely from stress-
while standing up except for Bad Luck's extremely talented keyboardist,
Fujisaki Suguru, who was quickly fanning him with a thin book of music sheet
paper. Shuichi spun on his heels, throwing his arms open, ready to embrace his
companion as was their old custom, but he was greeted with a raised palm that
halted him instead. Gray cobalt eyes smiled gently at him from beneath crimson
colored bangs, and the other youth oddly blushed at the glance he was being
given.
"Ohayo, Hiro-kun!" he
squealed loudly, turning around in a full circle to prance around him in an
almost Shuichi-style ceremonial dance. "How did you know? How did you
know?" Nakano Hiroshi merely nodded at him.
"You only get that excited
when he has done something to make you happy," he replied easily, bracing
a graceful hand on the neck of his guitar while moving to stand beside a now
revived Sakano-san and the other youth who appeared to be partially depressed.
"So...are we going to practice now?" Shuichi gave him a thumb's-up
sign and shed his satchel before wrapping slim fingers around the base of the
microphone, his mouth open in imitation of the singing that would soon follow.
"Warm up first," K
instructed, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall in a form of
relaxation, a complete opposite to the other man nervously pacing back and
forth, mumbling about the consequences of not being able to reach deadlines on
time. Bad Luck's second CD -prefacing their originally contracted third CD by
NG-Records owner, Seguchi Tohma- was set to be released that month as soon as
Shuichi had finished creating new lyrics for their last song, and so far, like
many times before, he had yet to write a single word.
"Okay," Suguru
immediately replied in his limited English, earning an approving nod from their
manager as he tuned up the synthesizer for the specific song they were going to
practice on, although each of them knew it by heart by now from performing it
several times. It had been an interesting and almost traumatic week for the
members of the rising-in- popularity band as their lead singer had been in a
slump the entirety his lover had been away in the United States, and everyone
was glad to be getting back on schedule. Hiro followed suit, running fingers
across the strings of his instrument, testing a few chords here and there while
Shuichi stood immensely still, raising a concerned look from their heart attack
prone producer.
"Shindou-kun, you're not
ill are you?! Oh, no, what are we going to do? I have to report to Seguchi-sama
before the end of the day and inform him of our progress and-and-" His
eyes rolled backwards and he fainted again, landing in a heap of Sakano-san
bones at Shuichi's feet.
"Is anything wrong,
Shu-chan?" Hiro asked, earning another blush as well as a blank stare from
his friend before he shook his head and bound into action once again, although
he remained unmoving.
"Anou...let's sing
now!" he proclaimed, cueing Suguru with a point of his finger before
scowling seriously and concentrating on the flow of music that the keyboardist
and guitarist created in combined ease. The simple notes of 'Glaring Dream'
flooded the studio, lifting Shuichi's spirits despite the sadness of the
intended song. "Nigiyaka na hitogomi o tokeru tsubuyaki ga...ashi moto ni
chirabatta omoide nijimaseru-"
The pink-haired soloist froze
in mid-phrase when the door suddenly creaked open, revealing a lanky body clad
in loose jeans and a partially tight-fitting shirt, the infamous Nittle Grasper
logo spread across its pale background, and a lump somehow formed into his
throat, refusing to let him continue. Sapphire blue eyes sparkled with
longevity as well as something deeper than the content expression radiating on
the handsome face, and moss-green tinted brown hair hanging over a red headband
glistened with sheen under the artificial light, giving the man an ethereal
appearance that no one else in the known world could recreate. Clutched tightly
in his arms was a lump of fur with a scarlet ribbon tied around its neck, long
ears flopped over towards the ground -Kumagoro-san.
Shuichi found it nearly impossible to move as his idol from the days he had been
a little boy sprang into the room, a child-like demeanor overpowering the
intimidating presence he had held minutes before.
"Shuichi, Na No Da! Ohayo
gozaimasu!" he cried rapidly, nearly squeezing the life from the younger
youth as he tackled him to the ground and hugged him. "Are you singing,
Shuichi? Ryuichi and Kumagoro-san want to sing with you, Na No!"
Instantly, he was on his feet, grabbing the microphone in his left hand while
grasping his small stuffed bunny in the other. As soon as his mouth opened, an
aura of supremacy flooded over his countenance, changing his outlook
completely. The same words flowed from him with more ease than Shuichi had ever
possessed, sounding even more mystical without the accompaniment of Suguru's
and Hiro's instruments. The vocalist gazed up in amazement, worshipping the
resonance pounding through his throbbing ears.
This was a god.
"Anou-" Ryuichi
suddenly stopped in the middle of a word, turning to gape down at him with a
gentle smile on his solemn face.
"That's how you
shine," he replied softly, reminding him of the lesson he had given him
weeks ago before releasing the microphone and scrambling over to K to embrace
him in an exceedingly excited hug. Shuichi sat on the ground a moment longer,
reluctant to climb to his feet, and he sighed, his shoulders slumping while he
moved towards the exit of the room after he stood.
"Shindou-san, where are
you going? We have to-" Hiro lifted his hand, stopping Suguru from rushing
after the obviously depressed singer before shaking his head in a silent
representation of his own thoughts.
Shuichi needed some time to
himself.
* * *
Uesugi Tatsuha frustratedly
kicked at the flat tire on his motorcycle once more before standing and shoving
his hands into the pockets of the leather jacket draped over him in order to
examine his surroundings. The sky appeared dismal, clouds heavy and black with
intended precipitation, and his instincts told him that it was going to rain.
Somehow, his always reliable and trustworthy vehicle had broken down, and the
sixteen-year-old was now stranded on a countryside road with little traffic
between his hometown of Kyoto and his original destination of Tokyo. His elder
brother had called him earlier that morning, rousing him from a dream-filled
sleep haunted by images of one Sakuma Ryuichi -his obsession for years- and had
point blankly threatened to destroy all of his Nittle Grasper merchandise if he
didn't get to his apartment in less time that it took him to fix a cup of hot
coffee, and Tatsuha wouldn't put it past Eiri to uphold any of his promises. In
order to keep his most sacred possessions safe from a vengeful older sibling
-and to maintain what sanity he did have- he'd quickly readied his bike and
left without so much a goodbye to his father; not that he would have paid
attention to his absence anyway.
Drawing in a deep breath,
Tatsuha scanned the vacant street, searching for any signs of another car or
truck in hopes to ask for a ride into the city, but not finding one, he began
to walk, reluctantly leaving his motorcycle behind. He would have preferred to
push it all the way to Tokyo, but with the combination of impending weather
conditions and the fact that his only means of transportation weighed a good
amount despite its petite frame and build, he didn't have a choice and would
have to come back for it later. He buried his hands deeper into his coat and
slouched his shoulders, trekking at a normal pace and became so consumed in his
thoughts that he didn't see the crimson red Mercedes Benz approaching until the
squeal of tires nearly deafened him as it stopped.
"Well, well, what do we
have here? Hitch-hiking again, Tatsuha-kun?" a feminine voice questioned
him, and the dark haired youth lifted his head to stare at his own reflection
in a pair of tinted sunglasses clinging to a face surrounded by shimmering
chestnut hair. Tatsuha shrugged his shoulders and sighed exasperatingly before
speaking to his sister, the black beret she wore slipping a little to the side.
"Anou...you know me,"
he replied, smirking slightly as he took a step back, expecting her to get out
of her car and lecture him about leaving home without permission, but she
didn't.
Instead, she merely smiled at
him.
"So you think. Now get in,
and I will take you wherever it is you are intending to go because I do not
need you sick from walking in the rain," she instructed, leaning easily
into the leather-encased seat of the interior while she examined him from
beneath her shades.
"But it's not-" A
large drop of water landed on the edge of his nose and rolled to fall on the
ground. "-raining."
"Right…are you getting in
or do you want me to leave you?" Tatsuha contemplated on listening to his
sister but wasn't sure of what to make of the circumstances; she wouldn't
usually go out of her way to help him, and this wasn't any different.
"I'm not sure. Are you
stalking me, Mika-chan?" There was a sharp laugh.
"I have much better things
to do than stalk you, Tatsuha-kun. What's it going to be? It looks dreadfully
wet out there." In the past few minutes they had been talking, the sky had
torn itself open, drenching the earth, along with Tatsuha, in a thick sheet of
water.
"Daijoubu, Mika-chan…where
are you willing to take me?" he asked, striding quickly over to the other
side of the car with his long legs. Once inside, his sister hit the gas and
sped off, leaving dark streaks along the asphalt.
"NG-Records…Tohma needed
something," she replied nonchalantly, brushing her hair out of her view as
she relaxed into the seat and clenched the steering wheel in a loose grip with
one hand. Tatsuha tried not to move, afraid to get anything of Mika's soaked
with the liquid dripping off of him for fear of her wrath; she could be as
dangerous as Eiri if she wanted to.
"Nani? Then what are you
doing out here? Kyoto is a little far from home, don't you think?" Mika
tossed her head.
"Something told me you
would need help. Just be appreciative, Tatsuha." The youth slumped into
the seat, lowering his head to hide the pout working onto his countenance. He
prayed that by the time they did reach NG-Records that it had stopped raining
long enough for him to reach his older brother's house by foot; it didn't take
long to walk there, but he could never be too cautious about things. It was an
early lesson he had learned despite reluctance.
"Sure," he mumbled,
glancing out the window at the scenery rapidly passing by in a blur. Tatsuha
felt foolishly young sitting next to his sister, and even when he was around
those the same age as he, he still sensed the same feeling. Numerous people had
told him that he looked and acted older than his sixteen years of experience,
but he had never believed them; the only thing that actually appeared adult was
his sexuality.
He would never understand any
of it.
"Get out," his sister
ordered, startling him from thoughts of random nothingness.
"Nani?"
"I said get out. I'm not
waiting an eternity for you to wake up, Tatsuha." He shook his head and
blinked even as he stared up at the skyscraping NG-Records building. He
couldn't even remember them ever actually going through all the traffic Tokyo
offered to get here.
"Gomen ne, Mika-chan.
Arigato-" Mika gave him a push to open the door and grimaced at the
moisture clinging to her hand from his jacket.
"Don't start...now go and
give this to Tohma for me before you go to Eiri-san's." She handed him a
plastic case -obviously full of CDs- and leaned over him to open the door.
"How did you-"
Tatsuha suddenly found himself standing outside, a subsequent drizzle pattering
softly around him instead of the thick downpour.
"My secret...now go before
you get sick!" she commanded softly, smiling at him before rolling up the
tinted window and driving forward, sloshing water back onto his shoes and
jeans. Tatsuha frowned, trying his best to wipe off the excess fluid before
jogging into the nearest entrance, partially expecting to be hassled by a
security guard for an I.D. by the time he made it inside. No one emerged out of
the shadows to throw him back out into the weather, and he sighed, looking
around to familiarize himself with the part of NG-Records he was in so he could
quickly make a stop at his brother-in-law's office and then head to Eiri's
apartment. He wasn't as quick to learn places like most of his family -and it
had been quite a while since he'd been here- but he would eventually find where
he was going, even if he had to ask someone. Tatsuha turned down a corridor,
and running into a bunch of vending machines, spun around and went the other
direction, peering closely at the signs and tags stuck to several doors.
The entire interior looked the
same!
"Naa, matte! Matte!"
a masculine, though childish, voice cried from behind, and Tatsuha unexpectedly
found himself lying on the floor, a body clinging to him and a face pressed
into his shoulder.
"Nani? Doushite-"
Large blue eyes shining with hidden knowledge smiled at him as they peered at
him from beneath a red sweatband pushing back ragged brown hair, and Tatsuha
realized that his heart was pounding in his throat.
"Gomen nasai, Na No Da!
Ohayo gozaimasu! Sakuma Ryuichi desu!" His ears rang with the sound -the
name constantly repeating throughout his mind as if it were a sacred chant- and
Tatsuha felt his head hit the linoleum before he lost consciousness.
TBC-
A/N: Well, how was it? And, be honest! I'm actually going to finish this up,
I'm not really sure how long it's going to be anyway, but with support, I'm
sure I can do better than usual. I can already promise at least four more
chapters, LOL! ^_^ Plus, if you have any suggestions, I'd be happy to ponder
over them.
Please review!