Gravitation Fan Fiction ❯ Demon Ring ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Ru: Here I am again!
Rui: *glares* You're too loud idiot.
Ru: *pouts* Mou! What kind of muse are you?
Rui: *glare intensifies* I am not your muse. I'm your shadow.
Ru: Despite all appearances, I did know that. You're my shadow. It's just your unluckiness that accounts for the fact that you are the inspiration for some of my original characters.
Rui: *stares at Ru*
Ru: *blinks innocently*
Rui: *sigh* Whatever.
Ru: *sweatdrop* Hai...
Rui: Just get on with it.
Disclaimer: I own Gravitation and all its characters, so I'm free to do whatever I want to them. *sees lawyers approaching with large threatening piles of paper and expressions that look too happy* I mean...*cough* I do not own Gravitation or any of its characters. Don't bother suing me because I have no money. *sees lawyers turn away with disappointed looks on their faces* Please do not steal this story though. It's mine.
...

Demon Ring
Chapter 1
~

Tatsuha sighed to himself as he pressed the buzzer on the side of the door of Eiri's apartment. Mika had called him the day before and had asked him to check up on their brother to make sure he wasn't dead or in need of medical attention. She was worried about him, because no one had heard from Eiri in a week, but was supposedly unable to visit him due to a lunch meeting with some business client of Tohma's.

Tatsuha thought she was trying to avoid Eiri since they had fought the last time they spoke to one another.

His brother wasn't answering the door, so Tatsuha resorted to pressing the buzzer repeatedly in the hopes of annoying Eiri into opening it. There was no doubt in his mind that his brother knew that one of his siblings was at the door and was hoping he'd get discouraged and go away. Tatsuha was too stubborn for that to work. Soon the door of the apartment was thrown open, and a very irate Eiri stood framed in the doorway, aiming an icy glare at his younger brother.

"What the hell do you want?!" Tatsuha smiled cheerfully up at his brother.

"Ohayo aniki!" He exclaimed. "I just came by to see how you were doing." Tatsuha calmly pushed past Eiri and entered his apartment. With a slight expression of distaste he moved to the sliding door leading to the balcony and opened it, sighing as fresh air entered the previously stuffy apartment. Grimacing, he proceeded through the other rooms of the apartment, opening any windows he could find. Finally he returned to the living room where Eiri was standing impatiently, a cigarette dangling from his lips and an open can of beer in his hand.

"Did you have any reason for coming here other than to annoy me and open all my windows?" He asked sarcastically, and Tatsuha groaned inwardly at the cold expression on his face, carefully maintaining the semblance of a bright smile on his own.

"Do I need a reason for visiting my brother?" He asked innocently and proceeded to raid Eiri's refridgerator. Happy smile firmly in place, Tatsuha settled down on the living room couch and proceeded to stare intently at his brother, taking in his slightly ragged appearance.

"Is there something very fascinating about my body that you would like to share?" Eiri's tone was icy, but Tatsuha seemed unaffected by his harshness.

"You've changed aniki." He said simply and Eiri's eyes widened fractionally behind his glasses. "I'm not sure what it is, but something is different about you. You actually look healthier than the last time I saw you and you aren't as...tense." He looked up into his brother's eyes. "Did something happen?" To Tatsuha's surprise Eiri actually looked slightly flustered.

"I-I just..." He was cut off by the sound of the buzzer. Before Eiri could blink Tatsuha was off the couch and was opening the door to be greeted by...

A short pink haired boy.

"Yuki?" The boy asked in a confused tone. "When did you dye your hair?" Tatsuha stared at him for a moment before his face broke out into a bright smile which seemed to confuse the boy even more.

"Aniki's in the living room." He said happily. "I'm his younger brother Tatsuha." The confusion on the other's face vanished to be replaced by a smile whose brightness rivaled Tatsuha's own. "And you are...?"

"Shuichi! Shindou Shuichi!" The boy replied and Tatsuha let him push forward enough so that he could lean around him to look happily at the very annoyed Eiri standing in the middle of his living room. "Ne Yuki! You never said you had a brother!" Eiri's response was another dark glare which intensified as Shuichi practically skipped up to him and planted a soft kiss on his mouth.

Tatsuha's eyes went wide with shock and his brother's face made a valient attempt to match the colour of Shuichi's hair.

"Baka!" Eiri furiously shoved Shuichi away from him, his face flaming. Tatsuha was struck by how easily Shuichi had managed to break through his brother's cold facade and shatter his iron control. He felt a genuine smile bloom on his face. Eiri had been keeping a very important secret from him.

"Yuki!" The pink haired boy whined. "Aren't you happy to see me? I came back early from work to be with you!" He pouted cutely and Tatsuha's smile widened at the slightly bewildered look on his brother's face. He couldn't resist.

"Aniki!" Eiri's eyes snapped to his face. "Shuichi said you never told him about me! Ne...are you ashamed of your family?" He laughed inwardly at the look on Eiri's face and continued plaintively. "So you are ashamed of me?! I feel so hurt!"

"Yuuuuukiiiii!" Shuichi whined.

"Aniki!" Tatsuha wailed. His brother's eyes darted between the two of them for a moment before an extremely annoyed expression spread over his face.

"Out!" He snapped suddenly and both boys stared at him, slightly shocked by his angry outburst. "Get out! Both of you! You're giving me a headache!" Eiri punctuated his words by shoving both Shuichi and Tatsuha into the hallway outside the apartment and slamming the door, returning to whatever he was doing before either of them arrived. Shuichi and Tatsuha both gazed mournfully at the closed door for a moment before Tatsuha broke the silence.

"So...since I know nothing about you other than the fact that you're apparently aniki's lover...how about we go for coffee or something and talk?" Shuichi nodded at him and both boys set off for the nearest coffee shop.

Ten minutes later, Tatsuha and Shuichi were sitting in a small cafe, drinking from steaming mugs of coffee.

"So how long have you known my brother?" Tatsuha asked calmly. Shuichi sipped at his drink before replying.

"About three weeks." His eyes took on a faraway look. "I dropped some of my lyrics in the park. He read them and told me I had no talent." Shuichi realized Tatsuha was staring at him and smiled slightly. "I'm a singer in a band. Anyway, he pretty much crushed my ego completely, and I should have been furious with him...but part of me couldn't get over how cool he was, even when he was being so mean." He grinned. "A few days later I jumped in front of his car. I moved into his apartment less than a week after that." He took another sip of his coffee. "It hasn't been easy, but I wouldn't trade the time I've had with him for anything..." Tatsuha stared thoughtfully at the tender expression on Shuichi's face.

"Shuichi..." He said softly, and the pink haired vocalist's eyes met his briefly. "Do you love him?" Shuichi frowned and was silent for a moment before replying.

"I think I might." He whispered and suddenly leaped to his feet, his voice rising in volume. "Let's go shopping!" At Tatsuha's stunned look he grinned widely. "I don't think Yuki will let us back into his apartment for a while so we might as well do something ne?" Tatsuha nodded and they quickly paid for their drinks, Shuichi practically dragging the shell shocked painter out the door.

It was three hours later as they were walking down a street that Shuichi suddenly started pointing excitedly at something on the other side.

"Ne Tatsuha, let's go in there! I love looking through those old stores!" Tatsuha blinked at the sign that dubbed the aforementioned store as an antique shop and smiled at the shorter boy.

"Sure. These places usually have some interesting stuff." Shuichi smiled brightly and ran across the street, Tatsuha following at a more sedate pace.

The shelves of the store were overflowing with various items, many of which Tatsuha could not even identify. Shuichi had wandered over to the other side of the shop and Tatsuha suspected, from the sounds that drifted over to him, that he had discovered the store's collection of instruments. As for himself, Tatsuha was content to browse casually, stopping briefly to examine anything he found remotely interesting.

It was when he was looking at what seemed to be a collection of wooden figurines that something behind them caught the light and glittered metallically. Carefully, Tatsuha pushed the statues aside to find a small golden ring inlaid with a dark red stone whose colour reminded him faintly of blood. If he squinted, Tatsuha could make out some sort of writing engraved on the inside of the ring. It did not look like any language he recognized. For some reason, Tatsuha found himself fascinated with the ring. It was not long before he had bought it, and he and Shuichi were on their way back to Eiri's apartment.

After securing a promise that the singer would make Eiri eat something, Tatsuha proceeded back to his own apartment. Sighing, he entered his living room and sprawled onto his couch, one arm slung lazily over his head. He was exhausted, but he was happy. His brother had found someone who was able to break through the walls he had built around himself. Shuichi was just what Eiri needed and, Tatsuha smiled to himself, his brother had tried to hide him from the family. He wondered whether he should tell Mika...

Something was sticking into his back. Tatsuha tugged the bottom of his jacket out from under him and searched through his pockets. He pulled out the package from the antique shop and looked at it for a moment. Why had he bought the ring? He had never been very interested in jewelry before. In retrospect, the ring wasn't even the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen, and yet...Tatsuha was beginnning to feel vaguely disturbed. With a growing sense of disquiet he opened the small box the shop owner had parceled it in.

When he held it in his palm, the ring glinted innocently in the soft light of the apartment. It looked just as he had remembered it. The ring really wasn't exceptionally beautful, but somehow Tatsuha felt an undeniable attraction to it. It was almost as if the ring were silently calling to him, beckoning him to do something.

Suddenly inspired, Tatsuha grabbed a notebook from the table by the sofa and flipped to a blank page. Diligently, he copied out the strange words that were written on the ring's surface. When he was finished, he read it over carefully. He could probably say it out loud, if the words were written phonetically. Carefully, Tatsuha recited what he had written, the strange, almost fluid syllables flowing from his tongue.

When he finished, he stared at the ring sitting innocuously on the table. Nothing was happening. After a while he gave a frustrated sigh and got to his feet, heading towards the kitchen to make some tea.

When he came back holding a steaming cup, he nearly dropped it. Standing in his living room dressed in tight black pants and a white poet shirt was the most beautiful man Tatsuha had ever seen.

"Hi!" He exclaimed happily. "I'm Sakuma Ryuichi! Nice to meet you!"

...
Ohayo: Good morning.
Aniki: Older brother. I think this is what Tatsuha uses to refer to Eiri. Forgive me if I'm wrong.

Ru: Chapter One finished! Hopefully people will review me again. *smile* 11 reviews...more than all my other fics combined...
Rui: *glares* Do I have to do this?
Ru: *smile freezes* Yes.
Rui: Ru-chan would like to thank Madiha, nyao, avihenda, Cloudy daze, Crimson Firefly, Sachiko, Emily Tseng, boyiboboyibobobo, T, kensuyoko, and random reader for reviewing the prologue.
Ru: That wasn't so hard was it?
Rui: *takes out ofuda* Yes it was.
Ru: You can't kill me! I created you!
Rui: Whatever. *inches towards review button*
Ru: What are you doing?!
Rui: I'm going to flame you because this sucked.
Ru: *glares* Shut up! I'm not going to listen to your negative comments!
Rui: That won't stop me from making them!
Ru: I can't hear you! *covers ears with hands* LALALALALALALALALA!
Rui: Idiot. You're giving me a headache!
Ru: GOOD!
Rui: I hope people flame you!
Ru: *cries* Why must you always destroy my self esteem?
Rui: Because it's fun.
Ru: *glares* I'm glad my suffering is appealing to you.
Rui: *smile* So am I. I'll make a bet with you.
Ru: A bet?
Rui: I bet people won't review this...thing.
Ru: What do I get if they do?
Rui: *shrugs* I'm a fictional character. You'll get the satisfaction of knowing that I was wrong.
Ru: Oh. Ok. Please review everyone! I want to make my shadow eat her words!