Gravitation Fan Fiction ❯ Rapture ❯ Don't Annoy the Driver ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Gravitation, the plor, nor any of its characters; they belong to their creator, Murakami Maki. I do own the plot and ideas expressed within this story.

Genre: AU/SF/Romance

Story Type: Serial (hopefully!)

Summary: Yuki Eiri is a private investigator who has taken up the task of protecting a new client, Shindou Shuichi. What actions will have to be taken to make sure Shuichi stays safe?

Key: word = description; `word' = thoughts; "word" = speech; WORD = emphasis

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Rapture

Chapter One

It was raining again. The rain was sometimes considered a blessing and sometimes it was just a casual annoyance.

And to Yuki Eiri, it was a little of both.

He lit up in the safety of his easy chair, taking a break from the rest of the world. The blonde looked through the large, smudged windows of his small office and sighed.

The overcast sky created unusually dark shadows across the floor, so that the main source of light was emanating from the glow of his favorite Alfa-brand menthol cigarette. He inhaled deeply, relishing in the distinct, almost mint-flavored smoke before letting the air out of his lungs.

A sudden knock at his door made him look up. "Nori?"

"Ah, Eiri-san, someone's here to see you," his assistant, Ukai Noriko, explained in her usual, upbeat tone of voice.

"Do they have an appointment?"

"No, but I thought that since you didn't have any more appointments scheduled for today, then you could take this one. You don't mind, do you? Of course not! They even have money and are willing to pay up front, so. . . . My kid's gotta eat, too, you know!" She giggled quietly.

Yuki rolled his eyes. He could imagine the pleased look on his secretary's face without a lot of guesswork. "Sure. Send `em in. And while you're up, call the electric company on your cell."

The purple-haired woman opened the door with a smile and a person in a flowing cloak walked in with a polite nod toward Noriko. "I already DID, Eiri-san; they said that there was a downed power line somewhere and that they were sending someone out to repair it; the usual bull. Never can trust the electric company, eh? I swear, the people in charge must just like messing with our minds. I mean, it was only drizzling when I went outside for lunch!"

"Thank you, Noriko."

"No problem!" She winked and closed the door behind her with a satisfying clink.

"Actually, the rain's picked up a lot since then," the cloaked figure, obviously a young male from the sound of their voice, said and sat down in the faux-leather chair in front of Yuki's desk. "It's really a downpour!"

Yuki took his cigarette out of his mouth and began shuffling papers into manila folders with his other hand. "So . . . what do you want? I require half of the payment up front, the other half you can give me when I've solved your problems."

The boy took his hood off. "Can you work as a bodyguard?"

The blonde leaned back in his chair and took a drag. "Yes, but it costs significantly more than any other service I offer: 16 million yen. If you don't have the money, then don't waste my time."

"Oh, don't worry, I have enough money."

He pulled out a small wallet and began to count out large bills, to Yuki's surprise. "You just rob a bank, kid?"

The pink-haired boy laughed quietly. "Practically." He slid the rumpled money across the desk and then folded his hands. "Does that mean that you can be my bodyguard, um, Yuki-san? That is your name, right?"

Yuki began examining the money, which appeared to be entirely legit. "Do you have more, or are you just gonna make me your bodyguard until you pay it off?"

"No! No, look, here."

He passed the wallet over and the older man nearly dropped his cigarette on his slacks. "Hey, kid, seriously, I can't get involved with the law, here. . . ."

"Don't worry! I didn't take it from a bank and I didn't hack up some poor old lady to bits in an alley to get it. It was a present." He caught the wallet as the blonde tossed it back.

Yuki pocketed his money and glared at the boy. "Why do you need me for this job? Are you in some sort of gang?"

He smiled. "Oh, no way! Do I look like I am?" He seemed rather pleased. "I didn't think I looked that tough!"

"You don't. I thought you were a girl when you first walked in."

His face fell considerably. "Oh."

"What's your name, anyway?"

"I'm so sorry! I completely forgot to tell you! I've been so stressed lately! I'm Shindou Shuichi. It's nice to meet you, Yuki-san." He offered a small hand from the confines of his cloak but Yuki ignored it.

"All right, Shindou, explain to me why you need my services as a bodyguard."

"Ah. Well, you see, I've run away."

Yuki smirked. "Daddy won't let you drive his car?"

"No, not like that. I haven't seen my no-good parents for seven years."

"Hmm."

Shuichi's blue-purple eyes were lit up from a sudden lightning bolt outside. "I haven't mentioned this, but I'm a cantavis."

The blonde's expression deadpanned as a clap of thunder followed. "You're an alien?"

"Yes," Shuichi said and rolled his eyes. "Since I was twelve, I've been living with a REALLY nice, old couple. They gave me food and board just for singing for them every once and a while.

"But, they died two years ago in a car accident. This guy, though, Katsuragi Osamu, he had been secretly keeping track of me. He really likes cantavisians because they sell for a LOT of money on the slave market--"

"You don't look suited for hard labor," Yuki interrupted.

A blush appeared on Shuichi's face. "It's for a completely different kind of servitude, Yuki-san. Anyway, he sorta kidnapped me--"

"How can you `sorta' be kidnapped? You're either kidnapped or you aren't."

"PLEASE, stop interrupting me, Yuki-san!" Shuichi snapped. "Fine. He KIDNAPPED me and sold me off to this guy, Watanabe Kazuma. He seemed really nice when Katsuragi first took me to meet him. Personality-wise, he was sorta like your best friend's dad, you know? In fact, he was the one who gave me that money, and these clothes."

"He's pretty cheap with clothes. That cloak of yours looks like a burlap sack."

"Not THIS, moron! What I'm wearing underneath!"

"Lingerie? Or was that a rhetorical statement?"

Shuichi groaned in frustration and slapped his forehead. "No one has ever, EVER given me LINGERIE! I'm a BOY, damn it! I wear regular underwear, just like YOU do!"

Yuki rolled his eyes. "Continue with your story, Shindou. I don't have all day."

"How can you go from asking what underwear I'm wearing to being a stickler for time? YOU are the one who got me STARTED on that whole tangent!" He sighed and took a couple of deep breaths. "I'm okay now. Anyway, Watanabe got really mean once we had gotten the paperwork settled, so I ran away and ended up here. THE END," he added for emphasis.

"So, let me get this straight; you want me to be your bodyguard against this guy, Watanabe Kazuma, because you didn't hold up your end of this strange little wedding bargain of yours."

"It wasn't a WEDDING BARGAIN! I was sold against my WILL!"

"Whatever. But, you're still wearing his clothes, even though you're trying to distance yourself?"

Shuichi looked at the window. "It's really dirty, you know. Don't you have janitors in this building, or are you too cheap to afford them?"

The blonde sweatdropped. "You're not attentive, are you?"

"No, but I'm also just avoiding your question because I don't really feel that I have a good enough answer, except that I'm very cold and I don't have any other clothes to wear and I just ran away today, so deal with it," Shuichi said haughtily. "You know, if someone broke the window, they could fall into the street and they could sue you for it."

"That's why I put the desk AWAY from the window, idiot."

"I'm not an idiot! If I was an idiot, I wouldn't have agreed to let you be my bodyguard, now would I?" They sat in silence for a few minutes until Shuichi asked, "So, by the way, when ARE you going to start bodyguarding me?"

"I have been since you paid me," Yuki replied and snuffed his cigarette out in a glass ashtray situated between a few pictures: one of a brown-haired woman and a blonde man, and one of a black-haired boy. The movement brought Shuichi's attention there.

"Oh! Is this your family? Let me guess who these people are; the girl is your sister, the guy is your brother-in-law, and the boy is your nephew?"

Yuki chuckled slightly. "The boy's my brother, Tatsuha."

Shuichi smiled. "Oh. Well, you two DO look a lot alike. By the way, Yuki-san, where will we be staying? I mean, I don't think we should stay here if someone's trying to get me. What do you think?"

Yuki stood up and began to walk out of the room. "I'm not sure yet. Just follow me, for the time being. I don't want you out of my sight, got it?"

"But what if I have to--"

"We'll work out the details later." Yuki slipped on a blazer while Shuichi stood up and situated his cloak so his face wasn't easily discernible.

"Do I look okay? Can you see my face really well?"

"Sure, whatever." He opened the door, let Shuichi walk out first, and then flipped the light switch so the lights wouldn't turn on when the power turned back on.

"Seriously, Yuki-san, Watanabe could probably tell what I looked like, so can you tell?" Shuichi restated.

The door closed and Yuki locked it with his keys. "Just try to keep your head down."

"Gotcha!" Shuichi winked and made a `V-for-victory' sign with his fingers. "No one's ever gonna mess with me again, now that I've got a super-freaky, scary-looking bodyguard that knows kung fu, karate, and how to sumo-wrestle the bad guys into submission! HA!"

The pink-haired boy began imitating karate moves until Yuki smacked him upside the head. "We don't have time for nonsense."

"That hurt, you moron! You're supposed to PROTECT me, damn it! I KNEW I should've picked a different agency, but NO, this one had `charm' and `personality' to it, or some other stupid advertising bull--"

"Be QUIET. You're giving me a splitting headache."

"That's what you GET for hitting me and making fun of me, jerk!"

"You know, I could just give you your money back and kick you on the curb."

Shuichi frowned and bowed. "My most humble apologies, Yuki-sama."

Yuki rolled his eyes and passed some of the money to Noriko, who had been listening to the whole conversation, since her desk was practically in front of Yuki's office door. "So, you're on bodyguard duty now, Eiri-san? That's great! We haven't had any business for such a long time. No one needs private investigators anymore, I guess."

"You know the drill, Noriko. Just make sure that no one breaks in, and be sure to take messages for me. If it's really important, call me on my cell," Yuki said.

"Can do, Chief! See ya soon, okay? You can't go dying on me!"

"I won't."

He opened the main door and walked out with Shuichi.

"This is gonna be the COOLEST! I wish I would've had a bodyguard before! Then, I wouldn't be in this mess in the first place, right? Hey! Where are we going, Yuki-san?" Shuichi asked in one breath.

"The stairs."

"Really? Why not the elevator? That would be faster-- Oh, that's right. The power's out. Do you think the power's out in this entire city, or just this street, or just your building? I mean, this place is pretty run-down. I wouldn't be surprised if there were water-stains on the ceiling and blood-stains on the carpet, you know?"

Yuki's jaw clenched in irritation as he opened the door to the stairwell. "Not really."

Shuichi walked in and Yuki followed closely. "You're a smoker, aren't you?"

"Yes. Why do you care?"

"I don't really care, but I can smell it on your clothes and I was just wondering if you did or not, that's all."

"Well, I do."

"You shouldn't! It's so unhealthy! If we have to run for our lives, I don't want you having a heart attack! But, then I COULD use you as a human shield if it came down to that."

Yuki rolled his eyes. "First, you are NOT using me as a human shield. Second, we will NOT have to end up running for our lives. Third, I am in EXCELLENT shape. Fourth, SHUT THE HELL UP! You've talked my ears off and I've only known you for a half-hour, at most."

Shuichi frowned. "Sorry! I was just making casual conversation, is all. Just trying to be friendly."

They walked down the stairs in silence, except for the humming of the dim emergency lights.

"Where are we going?" Shuichi asked quietly.

"If you waited three seconds, you would have your answer."

Shuichi pushed open the door at the bottom of the stairs and grimaced. "This place smells really weird. And that thing over there DOES look like blood!"

Yuki walked past him and Shuichi had to jog to keep up. "And YOU say I'M unhealthy, and I can out-walk you."

"My LEGS are SHORT, OKAY?" A reverberating beep made Shuichi stop mid-stride. "What was that?"

"Car alarm." The headlights of a nearby black, sleek car blinked in confirmation.

"WOW! Is that a foreign car, Yuki-san? It's awesome!" Shuichi ran up and began running his hands over the glossy surface. "Hey! I can see myself!"

Yuki slapped his hands away once he reached the car himself. "You'll ruin it if you keep doing that. For God's sake, it's just a car."

"What kind is it?"

"Mercedes-Benz SLE."

"I was right! You can tell it's foreign because the steering wheel's on the wrong side! It's SOOOOO cool!" Shuichi piled inside and began hopping in his seat with a stupid, giddy look and Yuki started the ignition.

"Look at this! It's a cigarette lighter! In the CAR! Wow! And this! What is this thing? Oh! It unlocks all the doors! And this one rolls down the windows! And this is the air conditioner! And this is the heater! And this is the seatbelt!"

Yuki pulled his pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and pulled one out as quickly as he could with a fixed jaw, growling slightly. The car rolled out of the parking garage and out into the street, windshield wipers working double-time in the heavy rain.

"And this thing is the RADIO!"

Sudden, blaring sound poured out of the speakers and Yuki jumped, dropping his cigarette on the floor.

He pulled over onto the shoulder of the road, turned off the radio, and glared at the pink-haired boy with malice. "STOP MESSING WITH THE DAMN CAR! It's NOT a GODDAMN TOY! I'm trying to DRIVE, dumbass, and if you don't STOP, I'll run your side into a BRICK WALL!"

Shuichi looked shocked. "I'm . . . really . . . sorry. . . ."

"Good. Now put on your seatbelt and shut the HELL up!"

The car merged back onto the main road with little difficulty.

Yuki was glaring straight ahead for a mile, ignoring the occasional sniffle from the passenger seat until the car reached a stoplight.

He looked over at Shuichi, who was slumped against the window, his whole body twisted away from Yuki.

"Brat, you're going to ruin the window with your nose prints."

Shuichi didn't look up.

"Are you deaf?"

"No," he mumbled in a shaky voice and turned back the right way. "But do you have to be so mean?"

"I wasn't being mean; I was just annoyed."

The boy turned towards him, tear-streaked face upheld with a certain amount of pride, eyes sparkling with emotion. "Yes, you were! You're a horrible person! I was just excited because I've never sat in the passenger seat!" Shuichi yelled.

Yuki, though inclined to talk back, didn't. Instead, he studied Shuichi's face. He was actually quite attractive when the little freak wasn't chattering non-stop.

"And the light's blue, stupid!"

That snapped Yuki out of whatever thought he was having, and he slammed the accelerator, rushing through the intersection.

"AHHHHHHHHHH! SLOW DOWN! SLOW DOWN!" Shuichi gripped the seatbelt so tight that his hands paled.

Yuki did let off some, but the car zoomed the rest of the way home.

***

He staggered out of the car and almost fell over before grabbing onto Yuki's arm. Then, he let go and toppled in the opposite direction.

Yuki rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "You're not very graceful, are you?"

Shuichi responded by dry heaving.

"I guess you were worried sick, weren't you?"

"THAT'S NOT FUNNY!"

Yuki extended a hand and pulled Shuichi up by one of the folds on his cloak. "C'mon, brat."

"Don't call me that! Hey, where are we?"

"My apartment building."

The two walked in silence to the elevator because the power was on in this part of town, then walked out on Yuki's floor.

"So, this is Yuki-san's swingin' bachelor pad. I mean, I can only ASSUME that you're a bachelor. Otherwise, it would be a swingin' . . . something-else pad. Who thought up that, anyway? I mean, most people don't call their houses `pads,' do they?"

Yuki opened his door with his key and walked inside, with Shuichi following quietly. They both slipped their shoes off at the door. "Wait here."

Shuichi looked around and frowned as Yuki retreated into another room. "Hey! Yuki-san, your house is practically empty! Where's all the nice furniture? There's a couch, and that's it!"

He took off his itchy cloak and hung it up in a nearby closet. Then, he slid over to the black leather sofa and plopped down.

`Today's certainly been eventful,' he thought as he lied down and looked up at Yuki's ceiling. `Off-white. He's such a prude. Even his HOUSE is prudish. How come no one ever has chartreuse ceilings?'

At that, Yuki returned from his room with a bundle of clothes. He tossed them to the lifeless form on the sofa.

One that appeared to be wearing a dress.

"What the HELL are you wearing?" Yuki asked.

Shuichi opened his eyes and looked at himself. "Clothes. What are YOU wearing? Pie?"

"I'm obviously not wearing pie. And YOU are obviously wearing a dress."

"It's not MY fault! It's the only thing I OWN! It was either this or nothing!"

Yuki sighed. "Whatever. Just go get changed, PLEASE."

The pink-haired boy frowned, stood up, and walked out of the room, subconsciously pulling what little material he was wearing down to cover more leg.

The blonde then sat down on the couch and lit a cigarette. `That Watanabe guy has a fetish, or SOMETHING. . . . Even though he has nice legs. . . . Damn it!' Yuki slapped his forehead and scowled. `It's not you. It's just that he's a cantavis, that's IT. Damn their stupid pheromones to hell!' He took an extra-long drag and brushed his bangs out of his eyes. `That's IT, Eiri. Nothing more.'

"Yuki-san, your clothes are too big for me! You're a lot taller than I am," Shuichi commented as he shuffled into the living room. He was now wearing a button-down shirt with sleeves so long that Shuichi's fingers were barely visible and black slacks that dragged the floor. "Whatcha staring at, Yuki-san?"

There was a brief pause before Yuki answered. "I'm not staring. You're just blind, too, apparently."

"Uh . . . okay, then. Can we watch TV? Please?" He bounded over to the sofa and sat back down next to Yuki. "What do you like to watch, Yuki-san?"

"I don't usually watch TV, actually," he responded, fixing his gaze on the wall.

"Do you wanna watch TV with me? Can you tell me how to work it? I've never really watched TV before, except for a couple of times," Shuichi explained and picked the remote off the coffee table, examining it intently.

"First, you press the button that says `Power,'" Yuki said.

Shuichi pressed it a couple of times and began to get frustrated. "It's broken!"

"Aim it at the TV," Yuki sighed.

The screen sprang to life with a newscaster reporting on some trivial case. Shuichi stared in awe. "Wow! It's working."

"You're done. The only other thing you need to know is that these buttons control volume and these change the channels. Got it?"

"Yep!"

Yuki picked up a magazine off the coffee table and skimmed through the pages with a bored expression while secretly watching Shuichi out of the corner of his eye.

He was having a lot of fun finding a channel to watch, flipping through the lineup at blazing speed. Then, once he found something, he would turn the volume up and down. Shuichi suddenly tugged on Yuki's sleeve. "Yuki-san, look! What are they doing?"

He looked up at the TV and took the opportunity to extinguish his cigarette in the ashtray on the coffee table. "They're playing baseball. It's a game."

"Neat! Is baseball fun? Do you like baseball?"

"I don't really care for sports."

"Oh. Do you mind if I watch it?"

"Why would I care?"

Shuichi set the remote down and watched the screen, trying to follow the game but not really understanding what was going on.

After another half-hour, Shuichi yawned and turned the TV off. "Hey, Yuki-san, I'm really tired. Where can I take a nap?"

"You'll sleep on the couch. Do you need a pillow, or a blanket, or something?"

"Are you sure I have to sleep here? You have a really big bed, and I--"

Yuki stood up. "No. Don't even think about it."

"Then, yes, I WOULD like a pillow and a blanket." Shuichi crossed his arms and pouted slightly. "Even though this couch is uncomfortable."

The blonde shrugged and went to the linen closet, retrieved a blanket, then went to his room, got a pillow, and walked back out into the living room. Shuichi was still in the same position he was when Yuki had left. "Here," Yuki said and gave the stuff to Shuichi and walked away.

"Hey! Wait, Yuki-san!"

Yuki turned around. "What is it?"

Shuichi smiled, changing his mood completely. "Thanks. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help."

"It's not like I would've done this for free, though. You paid, just like everyone else. It's nothing special," Yuki said and flipped off the lights before walking into his bedroom and locking the door.

The pink-haired boy made his makeshift bed and lied down again, looking out the large windows of Yuki's apartment, watching the rain, fascinated at the way the sky looked.

`It's strange how life can change so fast, so quickly. . . .'

He closed his eyes and shortly fell asleep to the rhythmic sound of the rain.

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Notes:

*This is my first Gravitation fanfic.

*This story is supposed to take place in the far future. And it's supposed to be a

romance, but the characters haven't done anything romantic yet, sorry.

*Tatsuha is portrayed as a child for a reason. I am aware that he is a sixteen-year-old, and he is in this story, too. The picture is just old.

*Shuichi called Yuki `Yuki-san' in this chapter. He will not do this for the entire story.

*In Japan, even though they have green traffic lights, they are said to be blue by the Japanese.

*Baseball is a very popular sport in Japan, and I believe it has the staying power to still be played and celebrated in the future.

*Yuki's apartment is probably decorated like his apartment in the anime.

*According to the manga, it is implied that Yuki owns both a Mercedes-Benz SLE and a Saab Cabriolet. I can only assume that the SLE is his car of choice.

*It would be cool if someone actually did wear an outfit composed entirely of pie.

*16 million yen is roughly 146 thousand US dollars. I have no idea if that's the present rate for bodyguarding, so please, excuse that! Maybe Yuki just doesn't expect a lot of money. I don't know. Sorry!

*Why don't more people have chartreuse ceilings?

*This chapter is thirteen pages long, including this notes section.

*The spacing is terrible, but I don't know how to fix it.

*There will be other characters in later chapters.

*Remember: I can't improve unless you review. I appreciate constructive criticism, but no flames, please.

*This story is also being posted on FanFiction.Net. I tend to upload there more quickly, but there will probably be more stuff on the MediaMiner.Org version.

*Thank you for reading!