Gravitation Fan Fiction ❯ Apogee ❯ Chapter VII ( Chapter 7 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimer: Gravitation is not owned by me, it is owned by Maki Murakami. I own nothing.

Author's Note: Rating for future chapters.



Shuichi rubbed at his eyes and glanced at the digital clock on the mixing board. It was three am, and he still hadn't gone home. He'd come back to NG after leaving Yuki and needed something to do to keep his mind busy, so he'd worked on the song Yuki had inspired. The lyric had been changed three times, various bits rearranged to tell the story better and he felt like he was finally ready to bother with recording it for the others to hear. He hit the record button, watched the read-out to be sure it had started and then quietly walked into the studio, sat down behind the keyboard, took a deep breath and started the opening chord. He kept the keyboard simple, just a chord here and there to add to his voice, give Fujisaki and Hiro a chance to see where he wanted to go.

While he sang, he had trouble keeping his voice steady but he tried his best to ignore the tightness in his chest. He just wanted to finish it; it didn't have to be good enough for the album. Just enough for them to hear it and give it a yes or no. When the final notes died away, he wiped a hand across his face and went back to the board, pressing the sequence to stop recording and save it. He pressed the playback, wanting to hear it himself and went to lie down on the couch in the corner while he listened. Then he'd go home, really, he was just so tired he had to rest for just a minute.

He awoke to a girlish shriek and fell off the couch before looking up at the door from where he'd landed. Sakano stood in the doorway, shaking slightly as he reached out a hand toward Shuichi.

"Shindou, are you ok? I didn't expect you to be here, you went out with Yuki-san last night and I expected- Never mind."

Shuichi just shook his head, pulling himself back up on the couch and rubbing at his hip. It had been a short fall, but landing hurt, even if the floor was carpeted. He yawned widely, waving a hand at Sakano.

"What time is it, Sakano-san?"

"Seven AM, of course!" K's voice boomed from the doorway. "While the rest of you may not come in until nine, there is a lot of work to be done before then. Interviews, tour dates, release schedules, photo shoots -- they all have to be arranged, they don't just happen you know!"

Shuichi nodded. "Ah, of course. I'm sorry, I should have realized you work harder than the rest of us." He smiled broadly, standing and heading for the door. "If it's ok, I'm going to go home and change, I'll be back later."

He was out the door before anyone could have a chance to say anything, not wanting to hear any questions, not wanting to have to hear Sakano assume he spent the night with Yuki again. Though, it was safer than having him assume he spent the night writing a song, which is what he had done. He paused, looking back at the building and deciding there was nothing for it now, he'd started the playback and fallen asleep. There was no way that Sakano and K would miss the new recording, and K would figure it out, even if Sakano might not. Still, he supposed it wasn't so bad. At least this way, they would know that songs were coming fast and furious for the new album, which at this rate would have an excess of songs ready to go.

Shuichi managed not to fall back asleep on the train, helped in part by a strange woman who kept giving him odd looks and trying to inch closer to him in the crowded car. He had a feeling she might be some strange, obsessed fan, but when she got close enough to start asking him questions he realized it was much, much worse than that. She was a reporter, just dying to ask him about the pictures in that magazine the day before. He shoved his way through the other passengers, thankful he was much closer to the door than she was and got off a whole stop earlier than he should have just to escape. He ran out of the station as soon as he passed the doors and took off down the street, looking to make some distance and lose her in case she managed to get off the train after him.

After a couple of blocks he looked back and didn't see anyone running after him. He listened carefully and didn't hear her voice asking him to stop, or anything else for that matter and he breathed a deep sigh of relief. Now that he wasn't living with Yuki anymore, he had a vested interest in making sure no one knew where he lived. Even though they weren't together, he didn't want to see Yuki being dragged through the muck with him if the press ever found out they had broken up. Or, should he say, when the press found out. It would be absolutely impossible to keep them from knowing forever, but he'd do what he could to keep the vultures away as long as possible. He walked the rest of the way to his apartment, using the card key on his key chain to get in the front door and taking the elevator up to his fourth-floor apartment.

He dropped his bag carefully on the table, always scared of scratching the glass top since it was a furnished apartment, then stripped as he walked to the bathroom, dropping his clothes as they came off, not caring for the moment where they landed since the cleaning service wouldn't come until the next morning, so there was no chance of anyone walking in while he was in the shower. He sighed, almost moaning aloud as the hot water cascaded over his head and down his back. The couch in the studio had obviously not been designed for sleeping, and he had the cricks in his back to prove it. After standing in the spray for a few minutes to let the water work on the sore muscles, he turned and washed body and hair quickly before shutting off the water and stepping out, wrapping one towel around his waist and plopping another down over his dripping hair, rubbing at it slowly as he walked out of the steamy room to dry off and get dressed.

He stood in front of his closet and looked at the clothes hanging there, at the dresser below them with more clothes folded inside. Yuki had been right, he had certainly changed quite a bit in the past couple of months, no wonder everyone was so worried about him. Gone were the short shorts and barely-there tank tops, instead he wore jeans and long-sleeved tees these days. He didn't remember consciously making the change, but then again so many decisions had been made in such a short amount of time, he couldn't be sure of all of them any more. He'd moved out, decided he wasn't going back to live with Yuki again, even if they did somehow manage to fix things. Shuichi wanted to know that no one would have the power to deny him entrance to his own home ever again. The only way he saw to do that was to live on his own, regardless of the relationship. He sighed, grabbing a pair of dark jeans and one of his favorite shirts. He'd found it in a vintage clothing store not too far away with the original price tag still on it and had been thrilled. His mother hadn't thought it was appropriate to buy him a shirt with a picture of Nittle Grasper on the front, not with Ryuichi in what she considered a very improper pose, but he had wanted the shirt. By the time he had scraped together enough of his own allowance to buy it, they had been sold out. Finding this one had been something Shuichi couldn't pass up and he'd purchased it on the spot.

Deciding he was properly clothed for a rock star even if the shirt might still give his very proper mother a fainting spell, he dragged a comb through his hair and brushed his teeth before putting his shoes on and grabbing his bag, running back out the door and veering down the street toward the coffee house he frequented. He got his cappuccino to go that morning, thinking to himself that he'd make sure to walk into the studio eating a donut from the break room so everyone would be sure he was eating. Part of him was annoyed that everyone worried so much about him, another part touched that they cared. He sometimes wondered just how much of the concern was professional over personal, but right now, he felt like he would take what he could get.

He walked into the studio at NG thirty minutes later, coffee in one hand, donut in the other and stopped dead in the doorway. Grouped around the mixing board were Hiro, Fujisaki, Sakano, K and Tohma, the song Shuichi had recorded the night before being played back. He felt a flush start to stain his cheeks as he heard the breathless quality of his voice, remembering the emotion that had been running through him, how hard he had been trying to just get through it without breaking. He took a deep breath as it ended and he saw Sakano press the stop button.

"So, was it any good?"

Everyone turned to look at him, and he was surprised at the expressions he saw, not sure how to read them. Hiro and Fujisaki looked stunned, Sakano was giving him a pitying look, and K and Tohma looked calculating. He just canted his head to one side as he looked at them all, waiting for someone to give him an answer.

"It should go on the album," Hiro finally said.

"Hmm. Keep it as it is, add a guitar bridge for concerts, but other than that let it stand."

Shuichi looked in shock at Tohma. "Keep it? It's just the rough recording, just to give an idea. That wasn't meant to be the final song."

"Does that matter? It works the way it is, conveys the emotion best. It will be something to help the album sales, and it will be a good pre-intermission piece at concerts." Tohma took a step closer to Shuichi and waited until he had Shuichi's full attention before he spoke again. "Would I mislead you when it would cost me money, Shuichi?"

Shuichi let out a small chuckle and shook his head. "Ok, then, keep it. Hiro and I will work on where the bridge will go."

Tohma merely nodded and left, he had a meeting in ten minutes he couldn't be late for. Shuichi turned to the rest of the group and stepped into the studio, smiling as he did so and taking a bite of the donut in his hand. "So what else do we have planned today?"

_________-------------------===========--------------------_________

Shuichi was tired but happy as he left NG that night, waving goodbye to Sakano and Fujisaki on the way out. Work had gone well, they had the songs for the single decided on and Tohma had approved them, though there had been little question that he would. Hiro had left early to catch the train to Kyoto to visit Ayaka for the weekend, and K had gone out on business, something about arranging an interview for the week of the single release. Shuichi felt lighter than he had in months, like everything was finally starting to fall into place again and things would be all right. His good mood carried him through the ride on the crowded train, and through the walk down streets crowded with people on their way to the market before going home, or on their way out for dinner. He turned the corner to his quieter street and his good mood evaporated.

In front of his apartment building was a satellite truck with the dish raised and in front of the truck stood the woman he had run from that morning. He ducked back around the corner and took a deep breath, pulling his cell phone from his pocket. He bit his lip and looked through the numbers he had saved. Hiro would be no help, so he tried Fujisaki first. The number didn't even ring before he heard the canned voice from the phone company announce that the call could not go through. Fujisaki must have the phone off or be somewhere the signal couldn't reach. He tried Sakano, and then he tried K. Both calls went to voice mail and Shuichi left frantic messages for each. He couldn't call Yuki. After the argument the night before, Shuichi expected Yuki would just be inclined to laugh at his current predicament. He took a deep, steadying breath and tried the last number he could think of.

"Seguchi."

Shuichi had never been more glad to have a phone answered than he was in that moment, but he had to know. "Tohma, are you near a TV?"

"What channel?"

Shuichi peeked back around the corner and gave the channel ID, then waited while Tohma turned on the television and watched for a moment. He heard the sigh on the other end and knew he was right, it wasn't good.

"Shuichi, can you stay with Hiro tonight? It looks like someone found out where you live."

"Hiro went to Kyoto for the weekend, and I don't have his key."

"Come back here, I'll have my secretary look into getting you a hotel for the weekend."

Shuichi pushed off the wall, still holding the phone to his ear. "Thank you, Tohma."

"Don't thank me yet, Shuichi. It may not be possible to get you a hotel, but we'll do what we can."

Shuichi acknowledged the difficulty of the situation, then hung up the phone and headed back to NG, reflecting that he might as well just ask Tohma to let him remake one of the offices into an apartment with the amount of time he had been spending there, lately. He sighed as he got back to the train station, pulling up the hood of the jacket he wore to hide his hair and pulling a pair of small round sunglasses from the pocket. It wasn't often anymore that he felt the need to hide in public, since most people weren't looking for celebrities while they went about their daily lives. With the current television coverage of his nearby home, though, he felt this might be an appropriate time for a little subterfuge. Besides, it wasn't as though he was the only person on the train in sunglasses and a jacket. He counted three or four others dressed in similar fashion, all around his age, so it worked out for him.

The train ride was uneventful, and Shuichi was starting to feel tired when he reached the NG building yet again. He stopped off in the cafeteria for a cup of stale coffee, dumping in plenty of cream and sugar to mask the taste before continuing up to Tohma's office. His secretary wasn't at her desk when he got off the elevator, and Shuichi continued past and down the hall to Tohma's office, knocking lightly on the door before entering, even though it had been left ajar.

Tohma looked up as he came in, nodding to dismiss his secretary, quietly telling her to go home, and thank you for her hard work. He gestured to Shuichi to have a seat on one of the couches and came to sit across from him. For a minute neither of them spoke, Shuichi slumped on one couch and sipping at his coffee, Tohma watching him. Shuichi's mind was, for the first time all day, a blank slate, numb with fatigue and the events of the recent months. Tohma's was nearly racing, trying to figure out how he was going to explain to Shuichi that it seemed his only choice was to stay with Tohma this weekend. His secretary had tried every string they could pull, but there was a major convention in town, and a large event at the Tokyo Dome, and there had simply not been any rooms left. Well, not anywhere Tohma would consider acceptable. He refused to offer Shuichi a room at a hotel that wouldn't do something to keep the press out.

"Shuichi, I must apologize for not doing more to keep your residence from becoming known. We've tried to find you a hotel for the weekend, but it seems everything is booked already."

Shuichi looked up, conflicting emotions lighting his face as he shook his head. "You didn't do anything wrong. She followed me home, saw me on the train. I thought I'd lost her, but I guess I just wasn't careful enough. She'll leave me alone soon, they always leave Yuki alone after a while."

Tohma shook his head. "However, you are still without a place to sleep for the weekend."

"Oh, yeah. Well, I--" Shuichi swallowed hard around the lump in his throat, keeping his eyes on his coffee cup. He'd have to call Yuki; there was just no other option. The thought had him practically in a panic. He'd still had anger to fall back on the last time he had seen Yuki, but he didn't know if he could maintain the emotion if Yuki gave him the look that had always melted him from the very beginning. He still couldn't resist that look from Yuki, and the desire to be loved was almost stronger than the anger. He kept going over things, there had to be some other solution, he just couldn't see it.

Tohma stood, a soft smile on his lips as he looked down at Shuichi. He reached out and took the coffee cup from Shuichi's hand and placed it on the coffee table. Shuichi looked up at him and Tohma felt his smile widen until it almost felt like he was genuinely smiling for once.

"Shuichi, I have an extra bedroom, you can stay with me if you like."

"With you? I don't want to intrude." Shuichi felt as though the weight of the world had been lifted from him, but he didn't want to seem pushy. Tohma just smiled at him again and shook his head.

"You're not intruding. It will be nice to have some company; I've been feeling far too lonely lately. Come, it's getting late and I'm hungry."

Shuichi stood, following Tohma out the door and down to the lobby, part of his mind in shock and the rest just looking forward to the time when he could fall asleep.