Gravitation Fan Fiction ❯ Apogee ❯ Chapter XXVII ( Chapter 27 )

[ 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.


The interviewer was a friendly-looking young woman at first glance, just another smiling beauty from some magazine or other, given Shuichi as a first interview because they assumed that K wouldn't let them ask anything juicy, anyway. NG was known for not letting their artists get carried away and reveal things that the company wasn't ready to release. Shuichi smiled as he approached, noting the hard glint in her eye as something he had glimpsed a few times from Tohma before he knew what it meant. His smile widened just a bit, thinking that she was about to get the interview of a lifetime handed to her on a silver platter.

"Shindou-san, its a pleasure to meet you. My name is Nagano Sakura. I'm from Nippon Music Magazine."

Shuichi nodded, murmuring that he was pleased to meet her and they sat down in some chairs that K had gotten and placed in the lobby of the building for the interview. She brought out a small tape recorder and a pad and pencil and smiled at him.

"Is it okay if I record this, Shindou-san?"

"Of course," he replied, well used to interviews by this point.

"First, I'd like to congratulate you on Bad Luck's nominations at this year's Nippon Music Awards. You've been nominated for Artist of the Year and Fate was nominated for Best Song, yes?"

"Thank you. We're very happy to have been nominated. This was a great year for music and there was a lot of competition."

"Speaking of the competition, do you expect to win the categories you've been nominated in?"

"We'll be thrilled if we do, but if we don't we won't feel bad about it. Like I said, there was a lot of competition, and the other artists are all very deserving."

"Has Bad Luck returned to the studio yet?" She smiled, and Shuichi got a feeling she was going to get to the real questions soon.

"Yes, actually, we have. We've started work on our next single, and I think it's going to be something the fans will like."

"Now, Shindou-san, I do have to ask because your fans are dying to know. What is the story on the breakup between you and novelist Yuki Eiri?"

Shuichi saw K starting forward, ready to stop the questioning. He shook his head at him, waving him back. This is where the fun started.

"There's not much to that one, I'm afraid. We drifted apart, and I decided we'd be better off as friends than lovers. If there is a 'bad-guy' in that story, its probably me, since I left him."

He could practically see the dollar signs in her eyes as he answered the question. She was getting an unexpected exclusive, and she would doubtless get a nice bonus from her employer for it.

"Well, it would seem the rumor-mill had that one wrong, wouldn't it?"

Shuichi nodded. "Yes, very wrong. I'm also not infected with AIDS, or anything else. I'm also mot dying." He flashed a quick smile, putting a kindly face on his words instead of the scathing accusations he wanted them to be.

"Shindou-san, I can tell you seem to be in very good health. Can you explain the pictures from your tour? You appeared to be very thin, and there were reports that you weren't eating."

Shuichi closed his eyes for a moment. This was the hard part of what he was going to do, but it had to be done. He wanted things out in the open to a certain degree. He knew his fans needed the reassurance, and he was sure it would go a long way toward smoothing things over at NG if he handled this maturely. Tohma had obviously been avoiding him, and Shuichi fully believed that it was because Tohma believed him to be immature. He thought Shuichi wouldn't be able to deal with him in a professional manner. He was sure he'd even advised K to make sure that Shuichi didn't mention certain things.

"I did go through times where I wasn't eating," he replied. "I was very depressed, and I was trying to deny it. I've since sought help, and I'm much better now."

"You are seeing a psychiatrist?"

"A counselor. It was suggested that I see a psychiatrist for medication, but I refused. I'd never suffered from depression like that before, and I believed I only needed time and someone to help me through it." Shuichi smiled gently, hoping that she wouldn't detect the lie for what it was. He hadn't talked to the counselor Tohma had sent, not about what was really bothering him, anyway. Once she found out he'd been raped once, she had focused on that, and he let her assume that was the root of his depression.

"This depression seemed to start after Bad Luck's return from recording in Los Angeles. Was the source of the depression there? A love you had to leave behind, perhaps?"

He chuckled. "No, not there. I'd met someone here before I went to LA, and I'd thought we were going to continue our relationship when I returned, but I was wrong."

"And, that is the person you wrote Fate for?"

"Yes, it is. Though things didn't work out, part of me will always be in love with that person."

"Shindou-san, since you seem to be in such an expansive mood today, let me ask - will you tell me who that person is? The one you wrote Fate for?"

He laughed this time. "No, I'm sorry. I've decided to protect that person's identity. They have a right to their privacy."

"Of course," she smiled, but her disappointment was obvious. "So, has anyone else come into your life since?"

"No, but I remain hopeful. Love strikes when we least expect it, after all."

K stepped forward then, politely telling the woman that the interview was concluded, and he would escort her out, as Shuichi had other appointments. Shuichi stood and shook her hand, telling her he looked forward to seeing the article she would write about the interview. Once she was gone, K told him he would have ten minutes to get his things together before they were leaving for the gym, since K was still determined to get him started with a trainer.