Gravitation Fan Fiction ❯ Disappearing Act ❯ Chapter 14

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

Disappearing Act

By: ladygizarme

Disclaimer: I don't own these gorgeous boys; Murakami Maki-sensei does *sobs*

I make no money off this story, no matter how much I wish I could. So leave me alone and stop trying to mooch money, I don't have any!!

Warning: `K, I just wanted to say up front: Though I own and have seen all of the anime, I haven't been able to read all of the manga yet, because of a pact I made with Houseki *sigh* So I don't know if Suguru's parents are ever mentioned/given names/specified for familial relationship to Touma. I've given them names in this chapter, regardless, so if I made a big faux pas with that, just let me know what their real given names are in a review ^__^ Also, of course, this chap is unbeta'd.

Note: For anyone that was wondering because they missed it, the Fujisakis leaving Mika and Touma's house was reduced to one line last chapter: But before he could even think about asking, Mika was dragging him back into the house and down a hallway to the guest bedroom, where she left him to go say goodbye to her guests.

Chapter Fourteen:

It was close to 11pm when Suguru's parents finally entered their home after leaving the Seguchis'. Miyo and her husband Senichi each went through their routines of preparing their work things for the morning, then undressing and getting ready for bed. As Senichi brushed his teeth, Miyo took her makeup off and spoke to him.

“Did Touma-kun seem a little odd to you tonight?” she asked.

Sen paused to spit the toothpaste out and rinse before answering, “He seemed the same as always to me.”

Closing one eye as she slid a makeup remover-doused cotton ball across it, Miyo shook her head slightly, “No, there was definitely something different about him. I noticed it every time he looked at you or me. He looked… like he felt guilty about something.” She turned to the sink to wash her face.

Her husband shrugged. “You would know better than me. Even after more than two decades of marriage, I still haven't learned to completely read that Seguchi smile of yours, and your nephew's is even more unreadable.”

Miyo finished washing and rubbed moisturizer into her skin. Then, giving that self-same infamous smile, she patted her husband on the cheek, gave him a light peck, and left the room for their bedroom.

Following her, Senichi said, “Well, if you think that was how he looked, what do you think Touma-kun felt guilty about?”

Miyo pulled back the covers on their bed, fluffing the pillows. “Maybe he still feels upset about Suguru coming home drunk the other night. After all, he is the one that put him in that band. He probably feels responsible.”

“As well he should,” her husband replied, stepping out of his slippers and getting into bed. “Which reminds me, Suguru is staying with one of the boys from that band again tonight, isn't he? Why did you agree to that if they're the ones that got him drunk in the first place?”

She sat in the bed beside her husband, pulling the covers up to her lap. “Oh, you know Suguru won't take it too far. That was probably his first time drinking more than a toast, and he went overboard. But he's a smart boy; he'll figure out quickly when to stop. The only reason I made a fuss was so he knew we do care if he's off getting himself sick. What's more important right now, though, is that he's making friends.” She paused and turned a genuine smile to her husband, “Have you ever seen our Su-chan as happy as he is when he's going to meet those boys? I don't think even he realizes it yet, but he needs them. He's always been such an isolated child because of his genius. It's good to see him interested in such a normal thing as spending time with boys his own age. And it certainly can't be bad for his position in the band, if he's finally being accepted as part of the group, ne?”

Sen quirked a brow at this, “Boys his own age? They're three years older than him, aren't they?”

Miyo waved him off with a yawn as she slipped further down into the bedding, laying down for sleep. “Technicalities. They're teenage boys, dear. The exact age doesn't matter, as long as he's not just hanging around people our age anymore. Besides, if they were really bad boys, Suguru wouldn't even be interested in spending more time with them than he had to.” She leaned over to her nightstand, switching off the light, and again resituated into the covers.

Still sitting up in the dark, Senichi asked, “Did you just call me old?”

His wife chuckled, “No more than me, my dear. Now go to sleep.”

He, too, joined his wife in laying down, wrapping an arm around her. Just as she was nodding off, he lifted his head up and wondered aloud, “Do you think something happened with Suguru tonight, and that's what that phone call was about? Touma-kun left rather quickly after that. Maybe he went to take care of a situation he didn't want us finding out about!”

Miyo shook her head `no' as best she could while laying sideways on a pillow, answering tiredly, “No, I got the feeling that was about something else entirely. Besides, Touma-kun wouldn't keep anything from us if it was something important about Suguru. Now please, go to sleep. I have an early day tomorrow.”

“We both do,” her husband replied.

“So go to sleep.”

They both did.

*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~ ~*

Yuki was waiting for the taxi when it finally pulled up in front of his apartment building. He threw a wad of bills at the driver, with a thought of, `Thanks for leaving me the tab, Nakano.' Then he scooped up his sleeping boy and carried him up to their apartment.

As he opened the door, Shuuichi stirred, blinking up at him blearily.

“Yuki?”

“It's me, brat,” Yuki answered.

“Why are you here? Did you come to sing karaoke, too?”

“We're at home, baka,” Yuki said with a scoff and a roll of his eyes.

Suddenly Shuu tried to sit up, which didn't work too well while Yuki was cradling him, and the writer stumbled before unceremoniously dropping the singer to the floor. Shuuichi landed on his butt, but took no mind to the small pain as he looked up at his blonde and asked, “Did I get Hiro and Fujisaki to kiss yet?”

Yuki looked down at him in disbelief. “Nakano… and that Fujisaki kid…?” Realizing the sound of morbid curiosity that had come into his voice, the novelist shook his head to clear it. “I have no idea. Nakano sent you home in a cab because you passed out; you and the kid both.”

Shuu pouted as he stood up, putting his hands on Yuki's chest, “Awww, Yuki, what if I missed it? All my hard work, down the drain!”

“All your hard work,” Yuki quoted questioningly. “Don't tell me you're playing matchmaker, brat.”

The pink haired male stuck his tongue out playfully before grinning slyly and saying, “Why? Jealous?”

“Hardly. What exactly would I be jealous of? The fact that you've decided to moonlight as an amateur nakodo, or that you've finally decided to meddle in the love lives of people other than me? If anything, I should be grateful. With you distracted by them, I may actually get some work done around here. Though maybe someone should warn those two…” Yuki shrugged as if to say, `Oh well, it's not my problem', turned from Shuu to put his house slippers on and continued back to his laptop waiting patiently for him in his office.

Shuuichi looked slightly crestfallen, but followed the blonde anyway.

“Yuki,” the singer spoke as he breached the doorway to the room.

“What is it, brat?” the novelist asked, not looking up from where he stared at his computer screen through his glasses, typing away.

“You're still working on that chapter?”

“I had a lot of interruptions today,” Yuki answered, remembering with annoyance the phone calls from both Touma and Mika. “Plus, my editor called and asked for drafts of the first three chapters instead. I'm going to be working through the night just to make the fucking deadline tomorrow.”

“Oh,” Shuu said softly, running his finger along the wood of the door frame thoughtfully. “I guess I'll leave you alone then…”

He started to turn from the doorway, and Yuki paused his typing, frowning slightly before he realized what he was doing and schooled his expression. Before Yuki could feel too guilty about letting the boy down, though, Shuuichi suddenly turned back towards the room and bounded over to him. The blonde barely had time to brace himself before he was pounced, his office chair gliding halfway towards the wall before he could slow and stop it with his feet.

Glaring at the pink haired bundle now taking up all space on his lap, Yuki uttered, “Off, kusou gaki.”

“But Yu~ki~,” Shuu protested, wrapping his arms around the blonde's neck as he snuggled into him and gripped the sides of Yuki's thighs with his knees. “I miiiiss yoooouuu…” He burrowed his head into the curve of Yuki's neck, rubbing his face against him like a cat asking to be petted. Then, in another catlike gesture, Shuuichi licked him; from just above his collar, along the column of his neck, ever closer to the blonde's weak spot. Yuki pulled his head out of the way just in time, putting a hand to Shuu's face to keep him from a second attempt.

“I told you, I have a deadline. I'm to meet with my editor at one tomorrow. I don't have time to waste on anymore of your games today, brat.”

Yuki scoffed as he heard Shuu start to cry, and pulled his hand back to tell him to give up the act. However, once he saw those deep amethyst eyes liquid with honest tears, he frowned. Just how much had the kid had to drink anyway? Though admittedly Shuu was a bit of a crybaby, he normally was a little thicker skinned than this. After all, he'd been with Yuki for over half a year now, he should be used to the occasional brush off or harsh word, and the novelist had gone easy on him tonight! Hell, he'd been going easy on the singer the past several days! (What could he say, he'd been in a good mood.)

As the tears dropped and the pink haired boy started sniffling, Yuki sighed heavily. He put a hand on Shuu's head and brought the boy's now-dropped gaze back up to his golden one. Shuuichi hiccupped a little, but quieted to listen to his blonde.

“Look, Shuuichi,” the writer began softly, gaining the boy's attention even more by using his given name. Pinching the bridge of his nose under his glasses slightly, he continued. “An overstressed writer on a tight deadline is no company for you tonight. If you don't want me to be a worse pain later, you need to let me do my work. If you're a good boy and stay quiet, I'll let you watch me write, but you have to let me work this time.” He added this last part sternly, remembering all too well Shuu's antics from earlier that day.

Shuuichi looked like he was about to protest, but Yuki kissed him softly to silence him. “If you behave yourself and I make my deadline, I'll take you out tomorrow night after work,” he murmured against his young lover's lips.

The vocalist gasped and pulled back to look him in the eyes again, already-wide purple eyes growing to saucers, “Really?!”

“Really,” Yuki conceded with an almost solemn nod. He could just imagine the freak show he'd just condemned himself to. The two of them going out was never an easy, or very private, task. After all, there were always paparazzi to be found where either of them were concerned, and the two of them together increased that exponentially. But if it would appease Shuuichi for now and allow the writer to get some work done, it was a sacrifice he would make.

Shuu grinned. “Oh, Yuki!” Once again, the small body was plastered against him and the singer's soft mouth was showering him with quick happy kisses all over his face and neck, ending at his lips. Before the novelist could think to close his mouth, Shuu quickly slipped his tongue in to taste the familiar mix of cigarettes, coffee, and something sweet that was inherently Yuki. The blonde got a good idea of the answer to his thought about how much the singer had had to drink, tasting the slightly sour fruity tastes mixed with the sharp accent of liquor on the skilled little tongue invading his mouth. Then Shuuichi pulled back to grin again, proclaiming, “I love you, Yuki! Where should we go on our date?”

“Wherever you want,” the blonde answered, then added, “Within reason. Think about where you want to go, and we'll talk about it. Right now, though, I have work to do, so get off me.”

Shuuichi hopped off his lover's lap and started his `date with Yuki' dance, proclaiming his glee by sing-songing that same phrase. With a glare from the blonde, though, he stopped abruptly. Then he left to change into his tank top and shorts, brought in his pillow and blanket that had been stored in a cupboard in the living room, and laid on the small couch in Yuki's office. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep to the sound of the laptop's clacking keys, dreaming of where he and his lover should go the next day.

*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~ ~*

Touma woke with his arms again wrapped around Ryuichi's pillow. Seeing that the vocalist had also once again vacated the bed, Touma sat up in alarm, immediately tuning into the sounds of the apartment. If Ryuichi had merely gotten up to use the bathroom, he had nothing to worry about. Of course, if that was the case, why was Ryuichi's pillow in Touma's arms? Touma sat as still as possible, straining to make out the sounds of Ryuichi, but there were none. Getting out of bed and slipping into one of Ryu's robes, the blonde left the bedroom to investigate.

The house was completely empty. Kumagorou was nowhere to be found, either. And Ryuichi's favorite jacket and sneakers were missing. There was no note. Fear immediately coursed through Touma. Had Ryuichi run away again?

In panic, Touma found his cell phone and tried calling Ryuichi. It immediately went to voicemail, and Touma tried to sound calm as he left a message wondering where his Ryu had run off to now.

Next, Touma called Mika. It was her brother that had caused this mess, after all, and she had been the one to finally separate Tatsuha from Ryuichi. Maybe she knew where the boy monk had gone. If Tatsuha had merely left the apartment, and not the city as Touma hoped, the threat of him returning for Ryuichi was very real.

Touma, of course, knew how obsessed with Ryuichi that boy was; knew that Tatsuha even claimed to love Ryuichi. It had been the main reason he hadn't wanted Tatsuha anywhere near Ryuichi in the first place. Not because he thought that Ryuichi would somehow return Tatsuha's so-called love; he knew that was impossible; but because Touma worried that Tatsuha wouldn't simply leave the singer in peace once Ryu was done with him. Had Tatsuha convinced him to meet somewhere after Touma was asleep? Why was he having so much trouble because of one 16-year-old boy? Yes, it was an Uesugi boy, and Touma himself couldn't deny their inherent charm and irresistible sensuality; but Ryuichi had always been different! Once he'd slept with someone, that was always the end of it, no matter what! Touma had been the only exception, ever! Why was this time any different?

Touma waited anxiously as the phone rang and rang.

Finally, Mika ended his wait, answering groggily, “What?”

“Mika-san, I need to ask you an important question.”

He heard the sounds of her shifting in bed as she sat up before she asked in a confused voice, “Touma? What is it?”

“Where exactly did you send your brother to get him away from Ryuichi-san?”

“…I didn't send him anywhere, Touma. I just told Sakuma-san to make him leave, but he came here afterwards. Why do you ask?”

“He came there? Why? Where did he go after that, do you know?”

Mika sighed, “He came here to tell me off for interfering in his and Sakuma-san's relationship. I tried to tell him that Sakuma-san doesn't see it as a relationship, but he wouldn't believe me. I convinced him to stay here for the night, though.”

“Is he still there?” Touma asked a little too eagerly.

“I… think so… Why do you ask?”

Touma paused, pondering how much he should tell his wife. He didn't like the idea of letting her know Ryuichi was gone again, and just how out of his hands this situation had gotten. “I was just concerned, Mika-san. Ryuichi-san will be going into NG for work in the morning, and I wanted to make sure there was no possibility your brother plans to show up and give Ryuichi-san or I any trouble. He is your brother, Mika-san, and I will respect your wishes to leave him alone, as long as he does not come looking for trouble,” Touma explained silkily.

“…Hold on a sec,” Mika said, and Touma again heard movement as she got out of bed. A few moments later, Mika spoke again. “He's still here, Touma, but who knows what he will do once he wakes up. I tried to tell him to go home last night, but he's still angry with me, he won't listen.”

“Don't worry, Mika-san. I will take care of it. Give me a couple minutes, and I will call you back.”

Touma then hung up with his wife, and called K. After explaining, somewhat, the situation, and discussing the solution, Touma then called Mika back.

“Mika-san, K-san will be coming there very shortly, within the hour. Please cooperate with him. He will make sure Tatsuha-san goes back to your father's shrine without complications. I have it on good authority that Tatsuha-san has a particular suit of Eiri-san's—”

Mika interrupted, “Yes, I know. Eiri told me when I called him tonight.”

“I would greatly appreciate it if that suit was returned to Eiri-san. It was my birthday present to him this year, and is customized just for him.”

He heard Mika sigh, “Yes, Touma. I will make sure the suit is returned to Eiri.”

Touma felt a small wave of relief at her promise. “Thank you, Mika-san. I will let you go now, so you can make yourself presentable before K-san gets there.”

He hung up, satisfied that that threat to Ryuichi had been taken care of, and he could again focus on where the missing singer could be. Touma decided to check the rest of the luxury apartment building, but still found no sign of Ryuichi. Thinking maybe he had merely decided to wander around a little, Touma took to the streets in his Mercedes, slowly driving through neighboring streets in a six-block radius. When the blonde still did not find him, he decided to spread his search to the whole of the city. Ryuichi had no car or money for a cab, he had to be on foot! It shouldn't take too long to find the vocalist; Touma just needed a little patience.

*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~ ~*

Mika felt a presence behind her as she stood in the kitchen making herself some strong coffee to help sober herself. When she turned around, she almost jumped out of her skin at the sight of K.

The pony-tailed blonde was decked out in black commando gear, complete with his usual accessories of several guns. He also carried a small black duffel bag with him. When he saw her surprise, he flashed a grin.

“Hello, Mika-san. I'm here to take care of the problem.”

Regaining her composure, Mika narrowed her eyes at him. “What exactly are you going to do? What did you and Touma plan?”

He smirked and winked at her, “No worries. I have it all under control.”

“That may work for some people, but not me. Don't take me for a fool, K-san. Explain the plan to me.”

Realizing he really wouldn't get away with it, or at least not without an unnecessary fight, K relented and explained. “I drove a cargo van here. I've put Tatsuha's bike in it already, and the next step is Tatsuha. That boy is a pain in the ass, so I'm going to restrain him so he can't give me any trouble.” As he said this, he patted the duffel bag.

Mika raised her brow at this, but decided it would be best in the end anyway. There was no way Tatsuha would give in very easily otherwise. She led the American to the guest bedroom, and watched as he skillfully bound and gagged her youngest brother.

As soon as Tatsuha was disturbed in his sleep, he began fighting against the restraints being put on him, but he, unfortunately, was no match for the larger man. When he saw his sister watching with crossed arms and an impassive face, he glared at her and tried to curse through the thick material stuffed into his mouth.

“I'm sorry, Tatsuha. This is for your own good,” she said, looking at him solemnly. Then she looked at K, who had finally finished binding the black haired teen and was preparing to flop Tatsuha onto his shoulder to carry him out to the van.

“K-san,” Mika addressed. “Will you let him speak a moment? I need to ask him something.”

Once his mouth was again free, Tatsuha sprang into the longest string of curses he could think of, condemning K, Mika, and Touma to the deepest depths of the unholiest places for meddling in affairs between him and Ryuichi.

Mika crossed to him quickly and slapped him soundly across the face. “Would you stop acting like an idiot for a second and tell me where the rest of Eiri's suit is? Those pants you wore here tonight appear to belong to the set, so where's the rest?”

Tatsuha merely sneered at his older sister.

“Fine. You're going home either way. You obviously didn't have the rest of it on when you came here, so there's only one other place you could've put it.” She looked at K. “Check his bike. I don't care if you have to tear it apart to find the rest of that suit.”

Tatsuha's eyes went wide then hardened to a glare again as the American bent down to put the gag back in his mouth and flip him over his shoulder to carry him out. He desperately struggled against his restraints, screaming for them to fucking let him go, but it did no good with the thick material in his mouth. As K carried him from the room, Tatsuha watched helplessly as Mika, gathering his clothes he'd abandoned for sleep, found Ryuichi's phone number he'd put in his pocket and tore it up before throwing it away.

Once they were outside, Mika watched with slight trepidation as her brother was tossed in the back of the van beside his bike, and tied down with more restraints hooked to the floor. He was still screaming things through his gag, and she felt a twinge of guilt twist in her heart. K found the suit in the motorcycle's compartment, and turned back around to Mika with a look of almost-confusion.

“It seems there are pants in here as well, Mika-san.”

She frowned, and turned to Tatsuha who had an unreadable look on his face. He was glad he'd thrown out the original blue (now cum-stained) shirt before coming here. It could have possibly given away that the suit was a double.

Mika asked K to let Tatsuha talk again. “Well, brat, explain. Why are there two pairs of suit pants?”

“Easy, aneki, the ones I wore here tonight are mine now, thanks to Ryuichi. What the big American idiot over there is holding is aniki's. Now untie me, fucker! And give me back that number, aneki!” This earned him a gun to the head and gag back in the mouth.

Mika glared back at him, “I already told you, you can't have a relationship with Sakuma-san! I can't believe he even gave you his number, he never does that! What game is he playing at now?”

All he could say was, “Mmph.” Not that Tats would have actually told his sister that Ryuichi hadn't given it to him, and he'd really stolen the number from her. Besides, if she hadn't cut their time short, Ryuichi surely would've give Tatsuha the number himself

K suddenly interrupted the two glaring siblings when he shot a tranquilizer into Tatsuha, knocking the teen out soundly. Then he closed the back doors of the cargo van and headed towards the driver's side door. Mika followed him, carrying the bag she'd stuffed Tatsuha's clothes and shoes into.

“Wait here a minute,” she ordered, leaving the bag on the passenger seat and hurrying back into the house. When she returned, she had her purse, and two travel mugs of coffee.

“Mika-san?” K questioned as the woman got into the passenger seat.

“I'm coming with you. He's my brother, after all, and it's our family home you're taking him to. I want to see for myself that he gets home safely.” She raised an eyebrow at him, daring him to protest, but he simply shrugged with a grin.

“If that's what Mika-san wants, that's what Mika-san gets!” With that, they sped off for Kyoto; as much as you can call starting a 7-hour journey `speeding off'. Before they left the city, however, they stopped at Yuki's to drop off the suit and pick up Tatsuha's things Mika had been told before that he'd left there. She wanted the teen to have no excuse to come back anytime soon.

*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~ ~*

Yuki was finally flying through his work. He'd finished the first draft of his first chapter and was nearing the climax of the second when his doorbell rang just before 5am. Irritation coming back to him full force, he yanked the door open, fully intent on giving the unexpected visitor a piece of his mind. His words fell flat, though, when a familiar bundle of suit was unceremoniously shoved in his face by his older sister.

“Shindou-san said Tatsuha left his things here?” she asked curtly without explanation.

Dazedly, Yuki nodded.

“Where?”

Absently, the blonde pointed to a pile of clothes topped with a dead cell phone on the coffee table in the living room.

His sister determinedly walked into the house, traded her shoes for slippers, picked up the pile, and returned to the door.

“What's with the bunny?” she asked as she traded the slippers for her shoes again.

Yuki was confused a moment, then realized what she was talking about. Big Kumagorou had still not been moved from his spot on the couch. “Don't ask,” he said with an exasperated sigh and shake of his head.

Mika gave him an odd look, but didn't push the issue. It wasn't really important to her anyway, she was just curious.

Finally seeming to come back to himself, Yuki asked, “Oi, you find the kid?”

Mika nodded curtly. “I'm taking him home right now.” She left with Tatsuha's things, and Yuki was all too happy to return to his writing. Pounding the little shit could wait for another time, when he had the energy to waste.

His happiness was short lived, though. Before he went back to his office, he took the suit Mika returned to his room to hang it up. He would make sure to have it dry cleaned before wearing it out, but until then it didn't need to get more wrinkled than it already was. It was Armani, after all, and deserving of better treatment than it had surely seen these past few days.

As he was hanging it up, he noticed something odd. The suit seemed smaller than he remembered it. Particularly in the length of the pants and sleeves. He decided to try it on, just to be sure, and sure enough it was too small. What the hell?

Feeling another headache coming on, Yuki decided to leave it for now. There was nothing to be done about it at this time of morning, anyway, and he had work to do.

*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~ ~*

Touma was running out of ideas. He had tried all the places in the city he could think of that Ryuichi might go, and now he was just aimlessly driving around.

Suddenly his phone rang and he answered it immediately. It was Mika.

“We're on our way to Kyoto now, Touma.”

“We? You're going as well, Mika-san?” Touma asked.

“Is that okay with you?” she asked a little bitterly. “Itis my father's home, after all. Or have you suddenly decided you need me around for some reason?”

“No, but what about Eiri-san's suit?!” Touma exclaimed immediately, then felt a twinge of guilt for how that sounded. “I mean… that's not what I meant, Mika-san. You know I always need you, but it's perfectly fine if you visit your father—”

He was interrupted by the sound of her scoff. “Save it, Touma. Your first answer was the most honest, even if you try to believe the second one is. Don't worry, Eiri's precious suit has been returned to him, though I doubt he cares all that much about it right now. It seems he has some interesting hobbies distracting him from trivial matters such as a missing suit.” Mika gave an almost-chuckle, “I never thought I'd see the day when a giant pink bunny would sit on my little brother's couch for all to see.”

Touma's blood chilled at this and his heart beat faster to make up for it, pounding in his ears so that the rest of her words, if there were any, were drowned out. “Did you say `pink bunny'?”

“Yes, why?”

“Mika-san, I have to go. Thank you for the call. Please call me when you get safely to Kyoto with Tatsuha-san.” He hung up without waiting for her reply. Not that she expected any different.

*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~ ~*

Twenty minutes after he'd sat back at his laptop, Yuki's doorbell rang yet again. His head was really pounding now, both from lack of sleep and extreme irritation. He could practically see his own vein throbbing in his forehead as he walked through the house and yanked the door open.

“Can't a guy get a decent night's work around here?!” he exclaimed before taking in the face of his newest visitor. Once he made the recognition, it did nothing to sweeten his sour mood. “What do you want, Seguchi?”

The blonde stepped in without invitation, immediately slipping off his shoes and stepping into slippers as he made his way towards the living room.

“Oi, Seguchi!” Yuki called after him.

Touma made it to the couch and the pink bunny adorning it, and lost no time in picking it up, shaking it around, and fully inspecting. He even went so far as to rip through the back of the head, feeling through the stuffing as far down into it as he could fit his arm. His search, however, came up empty-handed. Ryuichi was not in this thing. But…

“Where is Ryuichi-san?” Touma asked in an accusatory tone, whirling around to meet Yuki's glare.

“I can't believe this. This again?! I already told you, Seguchi: Sakuma-san. Is. Not. Fucking. Here! I thought I told you to wait it out and stop bugging me!”

Ignoring this, Touma continued his search of the sparse living room furniture, then into the kitchen. After a short amount of time, he came back out to the living room and demanded, “Where is Shindou-san? He's here, isn't he? He may know!” Without waiting for the answer, Touma walked towards the hallway to find the singer for himself, intent on interrogation. However, his way was blocked by a tall blonde writer.

“What is your problem, Seguchi? Ryuichi's not with Tatsuha anymore. Tatsuha's with Mika. So why don't you go look for your missing vocalist at his own house?!”

At this outburst, Yuki was shocked as Touma suddenly burst into tears, grabbing onto the front of the novelist's shirt and burying his face into Yuki's chest.

“Seguchi, wha—”

Before he could finish his sentence, a half asleep Shuuichi stumbled out into the hallway, rubbing one of his sleepy eyes. “Yuki, what's going o—” He cut himself off as he saw Yuki and Touma standing there, Touma snuggled against the taller man, and Yuki's arms instinctively around the smaller one. Shuu gasped and repeated his former question, but with a darker, slightly suspicious tone. “What's going on?”

Yuki immediately let go of the keyboardist, but Touma would not release his hold on him. Glaring at the president of NG, the pink haired singer walked out of the hallway to where the other two had retreated slightly into the living room. Then he saw Big Kumagorou and the state his stuffing was currently in. The poor pink bunny was now leaning lopsided on the couch, gaping hole in the back of his head and neck clearly visible, even without the puffs of slightly pulled out stuffing accentuating it.

“Wha—” he started, walking over to the giant rabbit as he felt his own tears forming. “What happened to Big Kumagorou?! Yuki! Did you do this?” Even in his tears of half-asleep confusion, Shuuichi recognized without fail the honest look of, `No, it wasn't me,' Yuki gave him. The vocalist then pointed an accusatory finger at Touma, “You?! You did this, Seguchi-san?! And you let him, Yuki! Why?! What did Kuma-chan ever do to you?! And why do you have your arms around Big Kumagorou's killer, Yuki?!!”

“Baka! It's not like I let—” Yuki began, trying again to push Touma off of him, but the older blonde still held tight and interrupted the younger's words.

“No, Eiri-san, please! You have to help me, I don't know where else to go!!”

“Yuki!” Shuu cried, demanding his answer even as Touma continued to plead to him.

Everything was in a state of utter confusion, and before Yuki knew it, the front door had slammed. Shuuichi had left. The realization of this gave Yuki the extra boost he needed and he finally broke free of Touma's clutches, pushing the older man away roughly.

Touma hit the arm of the couch and lost his balance, falling back onto it in a rather undignified position. When he saw Yuki heading towards the door, reaching for his coat before he looked for his shoes, Touma scrambled after him and once again caught hold of him, hugging him from behind this time and burying his desperate tears in the novelist's back.

“Please,” he begged. “He always comes back to you. Please help me now.”

“He always comes back,” Yuki repeated, turning as best he could in the other's embrace to glare down at him. “I could say the same to you about Sakuma-san. Why is this so important right now, that you had to cause this ridiculous scene? Now Shuu's out there running away, thinking God knows what! All because your idiot singer went and got himself lost for a weekend?”

Touma had the grace to look slightly ashamed, but did not let go. “He did come back,” he finally said softly. “But he's run away again. I've been looking for him for an hour now, and I've reached my limit. I don't know what to do, Eiri-san. I don't know where to go; I don't know where else to look. When Mika-san told me she saw the bunny here I just… I was so sure it had to be him!”

Yuki sighed in defeat, giving up his attempts to free himself again. The kid was probably long gone by now anyway. He could run damn fast, especially when he was upset. The novelist would just have to explain the situation to him later. Once he finally understood it himself that is. Despite Touma's pleas, Yuki still felt he had no idea what was really going on.

Yuki asked Touma again, “Why don't you just go to Sakuma-san's house? He has to show up there eventually, doesn't he?”

“He was there,” Touma admitted quietly. “He was there with me, but he… ran away from me… again.”

Yuki's eyes hardened at this admittance. “You said you've been looking for him for an hour? Why were you with Sakuma-san at his home at 4 o'clock in the morning? Shouldn't you have been at home with my sister?”

At the tightening of Yuki's hands on Touma's arms, the keyboardist finally straightened himself and quickly wiped his face of the traces of tears still left. Trying to regain his calm, Touma said, “That is a matter between Mika-san and I. She understands, so it is of little consequence to you why.”

“Let's examine that, shall we? Currently, rather than writing on my book like I should be doing, I am talking to my emotionally irrational brother-in-law at…” he paused to look at a clock, “…5:30 in the morning, about some crisis that is only a crisis to him, after his actions caused my lover to bolt from the apartment. I'd say it's of big fucking consequence to me. Now tell me, what the hell is going on between you and Sakuma-san? You've made no attempts these past few days to hide your obsession with him, but I thought it was only your insatiable need to control everything and everyone around you that was causing it. Now I'm beginning to wonder. Are you cheating on my sister, with Sakuma-san?!”

As Yuki's voiced raised and the accusation was thrown, Touma's liquid eyes hardened to ice. “I already told you,” he said in a chilling voice, attempting a forced semblance of calm, yet laced with obvious anger and frustration. “Mika-san knows why. She understands I'm not doing anything to hurt her. She understands it's in everyone's best interests.”

“Tch, yeah right. She must be thrilled. Her place in your bed being taken up by that guy. Oh, wait, you were at his house weren't you? Well, I guess she has nothing to worry about in her bed, at least—”

Without even thinking about it, Touma slapped Yuki across the face. As the sound of the smack and the sting of the pain in his hand hit him, the keyboardist gasped, stepping back and staring at his hand in shock. He had hit Eiri! How could he?!

“I'm—I'm sorry, Eiri-san! I don't know what came over me! You were saying such harsh things and—”

Yuki scoffed, “Well, it's true, isn't it?”

Touma's lowered eyes snapped back to Yuki's, voice low and dangerous. “Don't you dare say that! You cheapen your sister by saying such things! I love Mika-san—”

“Fine way you show it!” Yuki interrupted.

“You have no idea!” Touma suddenly shouted. “Ryuichi-san hasn't replaced Mika-san at all! She knows it, and that's why she puts up with me. Because she knows… she knows how deep my love is. How… how dangerous… That I have to protect… to protect you… she lets me have Ryuichi-san!” Touma suddenly covered his mouth, shocked he'd actually told this terrible secret to the one person he never wanted to. Tears sprang to his eyes as he continued helplessly in a whisper to himself, “I can no longer have my Eiri-kun, at least let me have my Ryuichi-san…”

Yuki's eyes were wide with the multitude of realizations, and he suddenly exclaimed, “When are you going to get a fucking clue?! You never could have me! You can't just own people like that, Seguchi!” Then another thought struck him. “You have him dress up as me, don't you?”

The shock written all over the older blonde's face could not be hidden even by the most perfected of masks.

Yuki gave a snort of derisive laughter, “I thought so. Armani doesn't exactly shrink, after all. No wonder that suit was so small; Shuuichi could probably wear that thing. I always thought it was a little strange that you always insisted on handling my orders for tailor made suits, but I never thought it was because of something like this. Tell me, Seguchi, how many of my suits have you had remade?”

“What—” Touma swallowed hard. “What are you talking about?”

“Tch.” Yuki left the keyboardist standing there as he went back to his bedroom to retrieve the suit Mika had returned to him just half an hour before. Thrusting it at the other man, he answered, “That is what I'm talking about. That is the suit Mika-san got back from Tatsuha for me. But this isn't my suit, is it? I admit, I didn't notice it at first; it's the same right down to the cufflinks. But I think we both know whose measurements this was tailored to.”

All Touma could do was stare at it in shock.

Yuki was steaming now, and would stand the presence of his brother-in-law no longer.

“Get out, Seguchi. Coming from a man who already has a shrink of his own, I realize this advice might seem a little arrogant, but get yourself some professional help. You seriously need it.” Then he shoved Touma out of his door and threw his shoes at him, not even caring that the other man still had his house slippers as he slammed the door.

Yuki sighed heavily, not sure if it was out of relief or exasperation. He found medicine for the splitting headache he now had, then he tried to call Shuuichi to set him straight. However, it became evident this was pointless from the first ring, when the musical alert to the tune of Shining Collection started sounding from the pocket of the pants Shuu had been wearing earlier. Eyebrow twitching and vein throbbing in his forehead, Yuki decided explaining to Shuuichi would have to wait until later. He did still have a deadline to meet, after all.

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Japanese:

Nakodo = matchmaker

Kusou gaki = damn brat

(hopefully there wasn't anything else…)

Important A/N: Long author's notes suck. I write long author's notes. I suck. Gomen.

And on that note, did I jinx myself with the review totals in last chapter? I think I did. LOL, I wonder if everyone was doing like Houseki and waiting to be the 72nd reviewer?? Oh well, I ended up promising Houseki a Hiro/Suguru fic just so she'd put up the 71st review and let someone else take 72. Then ren ended up reviewing as #72 even though she didn't know it was “special” lmao (she reviewed without reading my A/N first). But, as I'd already told Houseki, ren and Houseki are my girls! They don't have to “win” anything to make a fic request lmao!! So, ren was throwing out random pairing ideas and stumbled on one that sparked my fancy: Mizuki/Fuji S. from Prince of Tennis. Ooh yeah, that's gonna be a fun one >:D

Erm, so in the interest of fair play, if my 73rd reviewer (on gurabiteshiyon.net) would like a gift fic, go ahead and make a pairing request! (Doesn't even necessarily hafta be Gravi *see ren's request in last paragraph*) If not, hey that's fine too… less work for me :p My only request: Please don't ask for K in a pairing. I love the guy, but can't get into writing any smut I like with him, and I would hate to “force” it.

A/N2:< /b> I wanted to post this by Saturday, but, blah, didn't happen. Well, so now I guess finishing and posting it is my anniversary present to myself! Nyahaa!! (Yep, cuz today, May 2nd, 2006, is my 3rd wedding anniversary!) Ah, I know, writing? On your anniversary?? Yeah well… a Tuesday doesn't make for easy festivities, we're splitting it up between weekends; and I'm feeling a bit like crap the past couple days, plus hubby works tonight (meaning he needs to sleep). Yep, writing and today being the third straight day of rain was the highlight of my day lmao (yay rain! And that's not sarcasm *non-sarcasm tag*) Oh wait, but Jpop did bring me breakfast this morning. ^__^

So, about the actual story… things are really coming to a head. Think things are dramatic this chapter? Just wait! Oh my, are my characterizations getting out of hand as they run away with the plot? I actually couldn't believe myself as I wrote Touma in that last scene. What do you guys think? Too over the top?? *shrug* Oh well… too late to back out now! Full speed ahead!!

About the drive to Kyoto: Well, I did a shitload of differently worded googles trying to find out how long it would take to drive from Tokyo to Kyoto, but I couldn't find exactly what I needed. What I did find out: 1) Kyoto and Osaka are very close together. 2) A train from Tokyo to Osaka takes the same amount of time as a train from Tokyo to Kyoto. 3) Driving from Tokyo to Osaka takes approximately 7 hours. Hence: driving to Kyoto most likely takes 7 hours! If anyone knows better, I'd love some proof to back up your findings so I can fix it!

Also, you may be noticing the distinct lack of smut… wow, I'm sorry! Blame it on the plot *snarls at plot* Don't worry, the smut will make a triumphant return before all's said and done. Please put up with the plotness `til then, though, nya. I know I could've fit in some Y/S way up there *points to first Shuu scene*, but 1) If I'd done that, I'd have fit even less plot into this chapter, which would only end up dragging the fic out even more. 2) I want there to be more Ryu/Tats than Y/S in this fic, dammit! That is the main pairing, after all! 3) I just wasn't feelin' my Yuki/Shuu this chap… IDK, for some reason I just couldn't seem to write them, even just their verbal interaction… it was part of the reason this chapter took so long to come out, actually. I ended up scrapping half of what I'd written of that scene and redoing it… Everything I wrote was too fucking cutesie!! I was writing me and Jpop instead of Yuki and Shuuichi!! WTF!

So, blah again. And like I said, long author's notes… gahhh… on to…

Review Replies:

sakuma_sonnet: Yeah… it seems trying to fix it only made the weird symbols worse heh… I think it's all fixed now, though. And, heh, it's sweet? Aww, you're sweet! Best Ryu/Tats?? *blushes at all your compliments* Thank you!!

CrypticOrchid: Yes he does, yes he does, and thanks! ^__^

Michelle: heehee, thanks! It's nice to hear I'm keeping people on the edge of their seats and wanting more!!

EIRI-CHICK: Nyahaa, thank you!! I had fun writing Shuu pickin' on them both, it is kawaii, ne? ^__^ As for Fujisaki-san.. *points to pre-chapter note*

Fuzzybunnytoo: heheh, thanks! (was that a “hot, hot, hot” for a specific chapter or the whole fic? Lol, cuz I don't think I did anything “hot” in the last chap, at least… *shrug*)

Houseki: Yeah, I'm puttin' em out right quick and you're doin' pretty well keepin' up nya. And dude, it tickles me that my Hiro/Sug is getting' you into them… so much so that you're requesting them instead of Y/S heh. The Kuma talking thing… I was in a weird mood when I wrote it and wasn't too sure if it would go over well… but I left it in anyway cuz still like it… that scene was sad to me though but *shrug* oh well… and the Hiro/Shuu/Sug “gay” convo lmao yeah dude, great laughs we had, glad ya liked it ^__~ and Touma *low whistle* yeahhh man, he's really got it comin' doesn't he? Hmm.. I wonder what's gonna happen… oh and last but not least, lmaooooo dude, YES I knew about the significance of the “nya”s in U+K and the neko dance that goes with it a looooong time ago nyahaha *like cat* nya nya!!

ren: heheh, liked the small people bein' quick thing, eh? Nyaha, another randomly-inserted memorable line from Crys-sama!! :p and yes, the part with Kuma was sad! *sniffle* I don't even know what kinda angsty mood I was in when I wrote that… I think that's also when I wrote that other Ryu scene that actually did make me cry (which still hasn't made it into a chap yet… it will be soon though!), so it definitely wasn't a normal angsty mood… as I said, even if I'm a crybaby, my writing has never made me cry before! It's funny to me that you were the “winner” and yet hadn't even read the A/N yet when you reviewed heh… 'Mizuki no seme to Syuusuke no uke' (trans: Seme!Mizuki and Uke!Syuusuke) is comin' soon ^__~ (nihihihi “coming” *is a dork*) Oh and, I know you used to be Yuki-sexual and now… yes, anime-sexual is the perfect description lol!! Listing them all would take too long nya!

Tlynn: Nyahaha!! I love that vision!! Touma really wouldn't know what (or who) hit him *giggles* oh and of course Kuma would have to get in on the action *Kumagorou beam!!* heehee Thanks for the review!

Chihiro1985: Yes, aren't they cute?! *grin* Touma should be shot..? would that give him enough suffering?? Lol Thanks for reviewing!!

Leila-chan: Hey, glad you're back!! Yes, Suguru does need to loosen up, nya? *nods* heehee ya liked Shuu riding in the taxi passed out? Nihihi, thanks… big sob for the whole Ryu/Touma thing though, nya? *cheers for Ryu/Tats with everybody* heh

Rayne_falls: Thank you for the compliments, I'm glad you're enjoying the story!! *continues cheering for Ryu/Tats* ^__^

Wow, so with 11 reviews from 3 sites for last chapter, now I'm only 8 reviews away from beating my “total review” record! Um… but if I do a gift-fic for that, no one will know who gets it until after all reviews are in.. since I'll have to total from all 3 sites, in order of review times…

`K, that's all for now! Mata ne!

~ lg

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Thanks for Reading and Reviewing!!