Disclaimer: I don't own Gravitation. This series belongs to its creator, Maki Murakami and all companies are associated with her.

Author's Note: My first Gravitation fanfic! I hope you like it! (Anything in italics is a thought.) ^_^

Chapter 1

The call came in the middle of their dress rehearsal. Yuki seemed like he had something urgent to tell him but he wouldn't say it over the phone. Shuichi had rushed out of the rehearsing studio immediately without bothering to tell anyone of who the caller was or why he was leaving. But the crew of Bad Luck just gave one another knowing looks that gave away the all too obvious answer as to who Shuichi was going to meet-Yuki Eiri. While they stood around tuning up their instruments, calling a few people, and fretting, Shuichi was going through the depths of his own created hell to reach Yuki. His mind conjured up varied thoughts as to what Yuki had to tell him. Yuki, what is it that you would need me to come right now? Well, whatever it is, I'm coming! Dressed as he was in his outfit, he stood out very starkly against the throngs of people that passed by in a blur. He was a yellow streak speeding among the common people. It was the day before their concert and they needed to practice, but when he got that call all thoughts of a performance flew out of his head only to be replaced by rapidly multiplying thoughts of his caller. He ran through crowds of people, shoving some and dodging others as he came upon them, viewing them all as nothing more than obstacles standing between him and Yuki, who needed his presence. Panting hard as he ran, he looked up and saw the big, white apartment building, where dwelled his beloved. Just as he rounded the corner towards the entrance, a middle-aged tenant in a crepuscular blue dress walked out.

"Wait! Please! Hold the door!" Shuichi shouted as he dove to get to the door before it closed. He flew head first into the door, the surprised tenant still there, holding the other of the double doors open. Shuichi, in his mad rush, didn't even realize that, having just rammed through the brown-painted metal with his head. Dried paint chips littered the ground by the vandalized door. The tenant seemed to be frozen in shock for a few moments and then ran away feeling more than just a little disturbed. Inside the building and standing in front of the elevator, Shuichi pressed the "up" button with a ferocity begot only from panic. After smoke started to emit from the button, he stopped pushing it and stood back a ways to see if the elevator was near the ground level yet. Unfortunately for him, instead of going down, the numbers were increasing. Somebody upstairs must have gotten to the elevator before him. Unable to wait for it to come down, Shuichi looked around for a stairway entrance. Having found one to his left, he bolted towards it. A trail of dust rose up behind him as he sped up the stairs three at a time. Yuki, wait for me, I'm almost there!

Finally at the destination he wanted to be at, he pushed open the door that led him out of the stairwell and into the residents' hall. He ran towards the room that he knew so well, thinking all the while that Yuki probably just wanted to see him out of loneliness. Shuichi continued to delude himself with these thoughts until he worked himself into a cheerful state of mind and could stop worrying as much. When he finally reached the door he was looking for, he stood there for a moment trying to catch his breath. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears as he reached for the metal doorknob with shaky hands. At finding the door locked, he moved one hand to just about eye-level and tapped lightly at first, but when no one answered, he knocked harder to be sure that Yuki would hear that he was there and open the door. After waiting for a little while, Shuichi decided that Yuki obviously was either ignoring him, (which wasn't possible since Yuki was the one who asked him to come), or he was busy answering nature's call. But even then, he could have at least shouted or something to let me know he was there. Shuichi pouted indignantly as he fumbled around in his pocket for the spare house key that Yuki had given him. At last having found the shiny silver key, he inserted it into the lock and turned it. The door gave a small squeak of protest and seemed to resist his opening it, as if trying to keep him from going in. Once he opened it enough to poke his head through, he could see that there was a small upturned dresser blocking the doorway.

"Yuki? Why do you have this here? I could hardly push my way through! Yuki, are you listening- Yuki!" Shuichi suddenly saw why he hadn't gotten an answer when he knocked on the door: Yuki was lying in a pool of blood, his own, no less. Shuichi forced his way past the door and collapsed onto the floor beside his paramour, not caring if his clothes turned a crimson color because of the blood. This must be what he was trying to tell me. This must be why he suddenly hung up on me… Scattered about on the floor were other bodies, all blood-soaked. Several of them still held guns in their hands, the barrels reflecting the pale, sickly light that came in from the hallway, the light fixture on the ceiling being broken and no longer giving off illumination. And all of the window curtains had been pulled together, cutting off any sunlight that might try to throw light on the ghastly scene before his eyes.

"Help! Somebody, please, help!" Shuichi tried in vain to wipe away the tears that came gushing out in an unstoppable torrent from his eyes. I don't understand this. Who are these guys? Why did they attack? Somebody must have heard the gunshots! Why didn't anyone come to help!? "Yuki, don't die! I'll call for the ambulance!" He stood up and looked for the phone that used to be on the dresser, which now lay by the door. Once he located it amongst the splinters of wood and other debris, he dialed and hoped for someone to pick up soon. When he heard the all too familiar and annoying voice that told him the line was busy, he became despondent. He dialed the number over and over again, waiting for the line to open up but each time he got the same result: busy. He was just about to give up when he looked over his shoulder at Yuki. It seemed that his eyes were dull and lifeless and there wasn't any soul left in him. Seeing the one person who was so special to him in such a condition gave him a new spark of energy as well as an idea.

Shuichi ran back to Yuki's side. "If this is the only way, then I'll carry you to the hospital myself!" Luckily, Yuki had one of those earpieces that connected to a cell phone so Shuichi could use both hands to carry him. First, he put the earpiece on and set the phone to dial the number until it went through. He then proceeded to hoist Yuki onto his back. As Shuichi listened to the disappointing results of each call, he ran as quickly as he could with a 163-pound man on his back. He was able to get just past the next block before the line cleared and his call was answered by a woman's voice.

"(Some hospital name)'s emergency room, how can I help you?"

"Yes! Please send an ambulance right away!"

"Your location?"

"Uhh…" I have no idea what this street is called! What do I do now? "Is it possible for you to trace this call?"

"Yes, hold for a moment please. *Beep! *" I can't believe they just put me on hold.

"*Beep! * An ambulance will arrive where you are shortly. If it's convenient, stay connected until then."

"Okay, I can do that." I guess I'll just stay here. Yuki, the ambulance is coming now, please hold on just a little longer!

The nasal whine of an ambulance sounded in the distance. Soon, the flashing red lights could be seen from where he stood as well. Finally, it arrived and they laid Yuki down on a stretcher, strapping him down to keep his body from rolling off during the ride. Shuichi disconnected the call and placed the earpiece together in his pocket with the cell phone, then followed the doctors into the back of the ambulance. The vehicle was full of bandages of all sorts and a pulse taker was located against the wall of one side. He glanced at all the hazardous objects for a moment and then turned his attention to the group of doctors in white laboratory coats hovering over Yuki. He looked hopefully at the doctors, waiting for them to tell him that it was going to be all right and that Yuki was fine. The doctors felt his gaze on them as though it was a palpable thing to be touched. They deliberately avoided eye contact, took out their latex gloves and pulled them on immediately, saying not a word to the now forlorn-looking boy. They placed an oxygen mask over Yuki's mouth and nose and an IV drip into his arm where the purplish vein bulged sporadically due to his uneven heartbeats. The doctors, one of whose names was Dr. Kaiki, as pertaining to his nametag, motioned to Shuichi with his hand reluctantly. His mahogany-colored hair fell carelessly about his forehead, giving him a messy look. The two of them went to one side of the cramped ambulance and out of the others' ways. Shuichi's head bumped against a shelf holding up bottles and packages of saline as they went over a roughly done road, spilling some onto the floor of the automobile and creating a mess.

"Oh, I'm sorry!"

"That's quite all right. It's nothing that can't be cleaned up. What I wanted to talk to you about is how your companion over there," he pointed at Yuki, "got hurt as badly as he did."

Shuichi all of a sudden had a downcast look about him as he gave a fleeting glace at his love and replied in a small voice, "I don't know… I wish I did though… I wish I could have been there to protect him from it!" The fire returned to his eyes as he thought about the men strewn across the floor in the apartment.

"I see…" Dr. Kaiki said as he raked his fingers through his hair, contemplating what they should do to ease the youth's troubles. "What's your name?"

"Shuichi Shindou, sir."

"Hmm… That sounds familiar. Where have I heard that name before?" He was talking to himself but Shuichi thought that he was being asked the question and answered.

"Well, I am the vocalist of the group Bad Luck."

"Oh! My daughter talks about you all the time! In fact, she's going to your concert tomorrow." And as an afterthought, he added, "Shouldn't you be practicing right now?"

"I should but then Yuki called…" At which Dr. Kaiki gave him a confused look. "That's Yuki," Shuichi said and gestured at the person laid upon the once white but now bloodstained stretcher. The others working around Yuki had their gloves and coats blotched with red as they tried to save the man whose life was bleeding out of him with each passing moment.

"Well I'm very sorry. Rest assured, my fellow doctors and I will do all that's in our power to save him." Having said that, he returned to his place among the ring of surgeons. Shuichi looked on in despair, holding on with all his might to the shred of hope that Dr. Kaiki had given him.

Once they reached the hospital, Shuichi was told to remain in the lobby and wait until word was given. The plaid seat cushions on the easy chairs that were scattered about the room seemed to represent the discord of his thoughts. He ran his fingers down the smooth wooden frame of the seat, finding a wear on the arm where, he supposed, countless others had done the same as he while waiting. After what seemed like ages, he finally came to a conclusion that he should do something. His stomach also growled at this point. And so, following his body's needs, Shuichi walked up to the receptionist and asked if there was a place where he could get some food. She showed his the direction in which he should go to find a cafeteria. After thanking her, he bounded off in that way, eager to find something to eat.

What she called a "cafeteria" was more like a feeding room for all the doctors and nurses: everyone was dressed in the same outfits. Today, the cafeteria was serving a farinaceous porridge that looked sickly to the eye and tasted almost as bad. Just at this moment, his cell phone started ringing, saving him from having to consume any more of the victuals.

"Shuichi! Where are you? We need you to come to practice!"

"Sorry, K. I'm at the hospital."

"What happened? Can you still sing? I don't want to have to call the concert off the day before!"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine. It's Yuki, he's been shot."

"Yuki? It's not bad, is it? Because if it isn't, I want you to come back here right now so we can finish-"

"What?" It sounds like he dropped the phone or something. "Hello?"

"Shuichi, what happened to Yuki?"

"K? What's with your voice? You sound like Hiro…"

"I am Hiro! I took the phone away from K. Now tell me, what happened to Yuki? Why is he in the hospital?"

"I'm not sure exactly what went on. It looked like a group of people ganged up on him and they shot him. I don't know who those people are though."

"Okay, you stay where you are, I'm going to check his apartment and try to find some information on those guys."

"Okay… what about the concert?"

"Forget the concert for now! We need to-"

"Hiro? Are you still there?"

"*Static*"

"I'm going to hang up now. I'll call you guys back later when I'm done here, okay? Bye!

"Well, that was weird. I hope everything's all right with them. I wonder why I suddenly got static on the line… And I'm still hungry. I know! I'll go buy some strawberry Pocky!" He pushed open one of the swinging doors that led out of the cafeteria and started walking down the hallways in search of a vendor. Once he located one, he went back to the lobby and sat down on a different seat than before, his previous seat now occupied by a little girl waving her doll around. She was laughing and smiling while her mother wasn't. They look a lot like each other. I wish I could feel as carefree right now too. Shuichi pondered what would happen if he lost Yuki. Well, first, he'd be heartbroken and then he'd go into another of his slumps, only this time, he would never come out of it. Everything that he loved and enjoyed in this life, including things like strawberry Pocky, YMO, B-2 Dept., B'z, etc., would all lose its appeal to him if Yuki disappeared from his life. He was so deep in thought and had shut out all other sounds that he didn't hear his name when someone called it. The person had to repeat it several times, becoming rather annoyed by the time he had finally comprehended that the voice was asking for him. He sat straighter in his seat from his slouched position and looked up to see a nurse with a white plastic clipboard cradled on one arm and holding a blue pen in her other hand; she had been calling him.

"Are you Shuichi Shindou?" she asked him when he came to, all traces of exasperation had by then evaporated from her voice.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Please fill out this information for yourself and the one you brought in, that is, if you know anything about him."

"Okay." He received the clipboard holding the papers and a pen from the nurse.

Name… Shuichi Shindou…Sex…why can't they write "gender" instead? Are they afraid it would take up too much space or something? Male…Birth date…April 16th…Reason for being here…bringing an injured…lover… friend…lover…friend… Which one should I put? Maybe they'd think I was weird if I put lover. After all, who writes that on a form for hospitals?

Before he could get very far in filling out the paper for himself, much less Yuki, a different nurse came. She was dressed the same as the one before her and had the same fair demeanor about her as well. I think the only difference between all of them is their hair color and even then they still look alike. This is why I don't like hospitals that much… So thought Shuichi as he followed the back of the nurse's nicely done hair down this hallway and that. He could hear the click clack of her heels each time she stepped on the blue and white ceramic tiled floor. It became a rhythm and he fell into a sort of trance from watching the bobbing of the nurse's hair and listening to the sound of the regular hit of footfalls against tile. Finally, they reached the door with the gilded numbers, 233, on it. He nearly walked into her, but caught himself just in time as they stopped. She turned the brass knob and held the gray-painted door open for him as he entered, then closed it behind him and left. The room was decorated with some leafy greenery in one corner and a few fresh flowers in a slender glass vase on the night stand beside the bed. Foremost in his view, though, was Yuki, propped up against a few pillows and staring out through the window thoughtfully. Moonlight shone through the window, lending luster to Yuki's blond hair, and spilling onto the bed and the floor beyond. It seemed that the day's events had taken longer than it felt. When Shuichi first discovered Yuki in his apartment, the day was yet nigh past noon, but now it had to have been well impregnated into the evening.

Seeing Yuki awake and seemingly quite well brought Shuichi to near tears with happiness. He could hardly muster a whisper in the giddy state that he was in, "Yuki…"

At hearing his name spoken so tenderly by his lover, Yuki turned his head and let his riveted gaze wander from the clear night sky and settle on Shuichi. His piercing brown eyes appeared to be able to see straight through to Shuichi's soul. He paused for a moment, as if weighing the consequences of saying anything, and then spoke in the authoritative tone that he always seemed to have; "I suppose you're the one who brought me here?"

At this, Shuichi became indignant and lost the softness in his voice, "Can't you at least say 'thank you'? I did save your life after all!"

"It doesn't matter." Yuki looked away at this point and his attention was once again diverted.

"Yuki, who were those men?"

"I don't know. They just came. But each and every single one of them got what he deserved: a future with an environment of the hottest fires and the darkest brimstone." Yuki was still gazing out at the moon when he said this. Then he looked back at Shuichi and asked, "Can you still love me after I just dictated that to you? I murdered all those men back there. Do you still place your trust in me even though I'm a killer?"

There was a slight pause before a reply was heard. "You've said to me before that you had killed someone. I loved you then and I'll still love you no matter what." Shuichi had stepped over to the bedside and now knelt on the floor, clutching the crisp, white bed sheets in his fists, tears welling up in his eyes, threatening to overflow. A few escaped and fell onto the bed, creating darker spots that stood out against the clean white folds of sheets. Yuki stared at him with a mixture of wonder and amusement, waiting for him to continue. Shuichi looked up into Yuki's face with the love and tenderness befitting one in his position. "For so long it seems I've been stuck in winter. My entire life was cold and bitter. It seemed that everything I did was superfluous and unnecessary. But once I found you, I finally made it to spring. You melted the glaciers in my heart and released a deluge of love gushing through me. And if you always stay with me, then it'll be forever spring." He held Yuki's hand as he said this and by now, rivulets of tears were freely running down his face, dripping down from the point of his chin onto the bed. Yuki bent over to him, and wiped away as much of the tears he could, but in vain because they came even harder now, Shuichi's chest heaving as he was racked by continuous sobs.

"What about summer?" Yuki asked to try to occupy him with words instead of sobs. But Shuichi was stubborn.

"I *sob* don't care *sob* about summer *sob*!" And now Yuki became annoyed with him.

"Will you stop crying already??" His expression changed from one trying to comfort to one who was ready to give up on a crybaby and just dump it out in the cold to fend for itself. At this direct request, Shuichi's tears met a drought and halted immediately as he looked eagerly at Yuki, having donned his dog suit in that moment, hoping that he could do something to please him. But before he could do anything, Yuki spoke again in a softer voice, "Shuichi, it doesn't matter what season it is. I lo-"

But before he could finish his thought, K, Sakano, and Sugurubarged into the once serene hospital room, creating a ruckus and disturbing everyone else. Shuichi's dog suit then disappeared and he was again in his concert outfit.

K had his magnum out and pointed at Shuichi. "Yo, Shuichi. Nice to see you."

"Shuichi, we've hardly practiced at all!!!" Sakano was twirling around in his worry as usual. "We might not be able to perform! But I can't say that now, not when my whole career is counting on this concert! Shuichi, we have to go!"

Suguru just stood beside those two and looked nervously around, hoping no one would ask if he was associated with them. Yuki had already put on an indifferent face and observed the situation quietly from his upright position on the bed.

Shuichi glanced down at his outfit and exclaimed that he wasn't fit to wear it tomorrow. At which all three of their visitors examined his clothes, muttering to themselves what they should do about the appalling state of his attire. The entire bottom of the yellow coat was stained an irreversible brownish color from the dried blood; the soles of his boots were caked with it; his once black gloves were likewise colored a shade of reddish-brown.

Suguru was the first to speak while the other two were still manhandling Shuichi, (i.e. they were picking up parts of his costume and looking at it, seeing how stiff it had become, etc.). "Well, there's no way that we can clean this out and get it dried before the concert."

Both Nakano and K agreed. Shuichi pouted and asked, "Then what should we do? I don't have anything to wear!"

Nakano looked confused and K retorted, "What are you talking about? There's a reason why we have a closet full of spare outfits: it's in case something like this happens and we have to replace it." He spoke in the most casual tone while he rubbed at a speck of dust on his gun. Once it gleamed again, he practiced his aim at Shuichi's head then put it down, thinking that it wouldn't be a good idea to kill him the night before a concert.

"What?! You never told me that we had spares!" Shuichi shot up from his seat on the floor and shouted in ire.

"You never asked," he replied in a matter-of-factly voice.

"There's no reason to get all worked up, is there? The point is that we don't have to worry just yet about costumes and the like. But what about practice? Do you think we're ready?" Suguru tried to calm things down but Nakano went off fretting again.

"Where's Hiroshi? We need him here!"

"Didn't he say he was going to check on something?" Suguru offered.

"Yeah, he said that he was going to check out Yuki's apartment to see if he could find anything about those guys," Shuichi added.

"But shouldn't he be back by now?"

"Nakano, we just have to trust that he's got everything under control."

"And if he doesn't," K had pulled out his magnum again, "then I'll make sure that he pays."

"K, I don't think it's necessary to go that far." Nakano was trying to reason with a man that was trigger-happy. Obviously, it didn't work and they got into an argument about what they should do about their current situation.

Up until now, Yuki had sat there and listened in growing aggravation. "You're all disturbing my rest and giving me a headache." That one sentence brought everyone to a silent hush.

"Like I said, we were just about to leave." K apologized and pushed everyone out of the room. He shut the door with a soft click and then followed the others out of the hospital and into the crisp night air.

Shuichi stood and looked up at the window he believed was Yuki's and thought that maybe later Yuki would tell him the rest of his sentence when he was well enough.

Morning of the next day dawned bright and early. The birds chirped cheerfully outside and somewhere a dog was heard barking. Despite the effervescent atmosphere, Shuichi woke up feeling quite sore. The previous night K had forced him to stay up late practicing to make up for the lost time. His feet hurt from standing up the whole time and his arms couldn't move properly without creating a painful sensation. But in lieu of his aches, Shuichi felt prepared and confident to perform today.

He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, blinking at the brightness of the sun shining outside his window and telling all to get out of bed. After adjusting a bit to the light, he decided to take a quick shower to wake himself up and clear any last traces of drowsiness from his head. The warm water ran down his body, cleansing him and seemingly caressing him. The feeling he got made him long for Yuki and the nights they had spent together. And suddenly, he felt his member harden up, the erectile tissue around it becoming swelled with blood and turning rigid. He reached his hand down to comfort the throb, moaning a bit and trying to imagine that it was Yuki's hand doing it instead. But before his lustful thoughts could go any farther, he switched the handle to cold and let the icy water sober him up again. He hummed a lively tune as he dried his body and wet hair with a blue towel picked up from a nearby wall hanger. Having completed that task, he set about putting on the clean costume that K had so generously provided for him at practice last evening. Once he had finished dressing himself and was done pulling on the gloves, he grabbed a box of strawberry Pocky from off the tabletop and then rushed out of his parents' house, being unable to sleep at Yuki's apartment because of the destruction that had happened there. Today, after the concert I'm going to go over there and clean up the mess. That way, when Yuki gets to come home from the hospital, he doesn't have to see the pandemonium that those punks caused. Yeah, that's what I'll do. It might even make him happy. Shuichi smiled at the thought of being able to gladden Yuki.

"La li ho!" Shuichi shouted blithely as he burst into their dressing room behind stage. It was still a few hours yet before starting time and everyone but Hiro was already there waiting anxiously for the debut concert of their new song, "In the Moonlight". The red second hand of the small black round clock hanging on the left wall ticked loudly in the discernable silence that ensued. But Shuichi's cheerful disposition was not to be smothered so easily. "Come on, I'm sure Hiro will be here on time. He knows how important this performance is and he wants Bad Luck to succeed as much as the rest of us, maybe even more. Cheer up!"

"He'd better. Otherwise he's going to have to answer to me," K said and pulled out his magnum, his finger resting dangerously on the trigger, and then added as an afterthought, "Heck, he's going to answer to me anyway for being late."

Some time later, a natty lady with a headphone on showed up carrying a clipboard with the list of times for performances. She seemed to have gone through a lot more trouble making her self look nice than any of the members of Bad Luck had done. Her formal-looking light pink blouse and matching skirt made a stark contrast against the desultory outfits of Bad Luck. Her hair was done up in a tight, neat bun and she wore close-toed black high heels. After assuring that not a single strand was out of place by looking at her reflection in the mirror on the far wall, she announced to them the line up: Bad Luck was the main showing that day but there would be a few less important bands warming up the stage for them. She asked if they were ready, and as if for the first time, took a look at the lackadaisical bunch before her, and then quickly half-stepped out of the room, cupped her hands to her mouth and called for the make-up crew to come in immediately. Even though K and Nakano weren't performing, they were attacked as well by the group of make-up artists that rushed into the room wielding professional products like weapons. The battle was over in a matter of minutes: Bad Luck struggled in vain; not only were there artists, but there were also others whose sole job was to hold down the patient, (err…person). After what seemed like ages of torture, the horde of people finally left, seemingly as one, and leaving behind not a single piece of make-up equipment, which was amazing considering how much they had brought. The announcing lady still stood there next to the doorway and smiled in approval at the transformation of Bad Luck. They were quite different from before: Shuichi's costume seemed to have taken a trip to a blind barber-the bottom of the coat was cut up and looked ragged and ripped, (not a bad appearance, actually)-his once black shirt underneath was now painted in multicolored diagonal stripes, and his hair was done up in spikes that stood straight up, not to mention all the make-up on his face; Suguru, K, and Nakano looked to be either in the same or worse conditions. Suguru was wondering why they'd put some sort of sticky stuff in his hair that made chartreuse streaks and if it was really necessary to have painted white dots of various sizes all over his black outfit.

"There now, you look so much livelier than before! Try not to smudge anything, okay?" she said to everyone there, and with that, she shut the door and left.

Shuichi spoke first, after a few moments of recovering from the initial shock, "Heh heh, this is what we have extra outfits for, right guys?" He smiled in good cheer.

Nakano gingerly fingered his ruined shirt collar and tried to pull out the red ribbon they had put in it as he said in a melancholy voice, "Only you, Suguru, and Hiro have extra clothes."

K just scoffed at that, "It doesn't really matter. You don't have to show your face to the public anyway."

"Which is a good thing because you two look like you could audition to be in the circus right now," Suguru chortled at their plight.

"I wouldn't be snickering if I was you. You look like a confused inverted cow," K retorted.

They all laughed a bit and, those who could, changed into new clothes, their spirits raised from the recent rumbustious activity. K and Nakano just wiped their faces and tried to salvage what little they could of their clothes. However, their gaiety was short-lived because as time slowly dwindled down little by little, Hiro had yet to make his appearance. There was already quite a crowd gathered at the stage and the crew of Bad Luck could very much hear the noise that they were making. Nervousness crept into their hearts and they dreaded the moment that someone would come to lead them onto the stage. They had worked themselves up into such a state that they all jumped in unison when they heard the doorknob turn and the hinges squeak as the door swung open. A different lady than before came in, but she, too, carried a clipboard. Her dress was nearly the same design as the other's except that hers was a knee-length skirt and it was a dark gray color. She wore black horn-rimmed reading glasses and her light brown hair hung down the length of her back, swaying as she moved. She seemed more serious too. As if all their negative feelings and thoughts had been a harbinger, she brought them the news that they had so feared:

"Unfortunately, the groups that were supposed to have performed before you have met technical difficulties and cannot perform. One couldn't make it in time and the others were not prepared. Imagine the chances that all three should be unprepared! What unprofessional conduct! Unmotivated performers like that will never make it to the higher rankings." There was a slight pause as she scribbled something on the paper held down on the clipboard with the black pen she was holding. The members of Bad Luck all exchanged uneasy looks with one another. K had his magnum out and was pondering whether or not he should shoot her. He decided against that, or at least until after she delivered the entire message. She began again after finishing whatever it was that she was writing, "Anyway, as I was saying, since Bad Luck is the main performance after all, you will just have to go on stage now. You are prepared, aren't you?" She looked at them over the rim of her glasses. Nakano gulped as he struggled to find answer. Shuichi, too, gritted his teeth and wondered what they could do. Without Hiro, they couldn't perform.

Suddenly, Suguru stood up and said with a sureness whose roots were unfounded, "We're ready; we can perform."

Shuichi snapped around to face Suguru. "But we can't! Hiro's not here! What are we going to do about his guitar role??"

"I can cover it with my synthesizer. We can do this, I'm sure of it!"

"Hmm…" K rubbed his chin in thought, "This might work. Okay! Go out there and do your best!"

"But I don't know if I'll be able to perform if Hiro isn't there. I mean, he's always been there and this wouldn't be the same if he wasn't here." Shuichi was starting to break down. The lady looked like she was starting to get annoyed. She tapped her pen impatiently against her clipboard. Shuichi had his hands on his knees as he thought to himself. Hiro has to be here! What am I going to do? Everyone's counting on me, not just Sakano, K, and Suguru, but there are fans out there that are waiting. I can't disappoint them like this. Selfish as I am, I can't look like a failure when this could ensure the top rank on the charts for Bad Luck! Hiro…you would have wanted Bad Luck to succeed no matter what. I'm sorry; I wish you could have been here to witness this. A lone teardrop came from his eyes, but he quickly wiped it away and put on a feigned smile. He stood up and announced absolutely that they would perform tonight, with or without Hiro.

The woman smiled and said, "Now that's what I like to hear." She led them to the stage entrance and held the door open as all four of them stepped through. K and Sakano stayed by the doorway while Shuichi and Suguru went on. The crowd went wild and applauded fervently at them. They smiled and went to their places, Suguru by the synthesizer and Shuichi by the microphone. The guitar and its stand stood alone, Hiro being still absent.

Suguru began the first few notes on the synthesizer as the crowd quieted a bit. But before Shuichi could sing the first word, the double doors that were for the audience burst open and Hiro stood there in triumph in the entrance.

"I'm here, Shuichi! Don't start yet without me!" he shouted and ran down the aisle, fans all around trying to touch him but at the same time tried to stay clear of his route so that he could reach the stage. He leapt up and grabbed Shuichi's hand for support. "Hey, I found out some information about those guys that attacked Yuki."

"Really?? That's great!"

"Yeah, I'll tell you about it after the concert."

"Sounds good to me," Shuichi grinned.

Hiro took his place and slung the guitar strap over his shoulder, played a few notes to get the crowd going again, and then gave a thumbs-up to Shuichi, who returned the sign.

Behind stage K and Nakano were both watching on. Nakano was crying freely and thanking Kami-sama ardently for answering his prayers. K just smirked, and then said, "Let's begin!"