Gravitation Fan Fiction ❯ Yuki ❯ Unreality (2) ( Chapter 9 )

Disclaimer: Gravitation does not belong to me. Ne, I doubt Gravitation would be as good if I owned it anyway. I'm not making any money out of this either and am just borrowing its characters….

A/N: Yay! I finally finished the second part! :-D That sure took quite a while to write… I had to hurry it all up a bit at the end, but I plan on putting some of the parts which weren't here but happened in between that time and that time on the next chapter. This was a bit weird, I know, and I don't really like how this came out… but, it does the job (I think I say this a bit too much) and I'm glad it's done. >.< T'was really hard. Hopefully, everyone will like this… and if not, I'll work hard next time! Gomen! Once again, thank you to the wonderful people who reviewed :-) And, this is, as usual it seems, still unedited. I'll get back to it sometime though… or ask someone to edit it for me… *_* Comments and Criticisms are more than welcome! Drop a review… review… almost thirty… (Maybe I'll make a drawing for the thirtieth reviewer? :-O)

Anyway, explanations for certain stuff will be at the end of this chapter, as well as some character stuff. I know, they're confusing... >.< Gomen… And finally, it's hard writing K and Ryuichi…

*minor edit - fixed character sketches links : )

Nine: Unreality (2)

Eiri rolled his eyes, when his younger brother, placing both of hands on his shoulder, repeated his previous plea. "Come on… come! Come! You have to come!"

Heaving a sigh, Eiri finally stopped attempting to work with Tatsuha standing beside him, bent on making him come to some family dinner their older sister had in mind for next week. He spun on his chair and glowered at Tatsuha.

"No." he said flatly.

Tatsuha slumped his shoulders, "Come on - it means a lot to sis!"

"Since when did you, of all people, care about Mika, anyway---?" Yuki questioned, unconvinced by the pitiful look on Tatsuha's face.

"Since yesterday?" Tatsuha said hopefully. Eiri rolled his eyes.

"No."

"Since she began flooding my machine with the same message all night?"

"No."

"Come on! She's been nagging me to make you come… Aniki.. please just come -"

"Welcome to my world." Eiri said suddenly, "Be thankful it's not her husband you have to put up with."

"Please?"

Eiri shook his head and spun on his chair, returning to his work. "My answer is still no. I have a deadline - go away."

"Your deadline isn't even until next year!" Tatsuha protested. He pouted when Eiri practically ignored him. "You know… I can ask Ryu-chan to dress up as Shuichi next ti---"

"No."

"-and then maybe I can have convince him to get into that sailor suit…"

"Tatsuha…"

"I'll share?"

"OUT."

That was the last straw, Tatsuha knew, but he knew he had to try anyway. Within a few seconds, his brother's wrath was upon him and the blonde displayed his expertise when it came to convincing people to leave his apartment with just the look. It didn't take long until Tatsuha found himself outside the front door, staring at the cloudless sky and wondering why something like this could happen in an otherwise perfect morning.

He sighed and raked a hand through his hair. "How am I going to convince the prick?" He asked no one in particular before casting one last look at Eiri's front door.

"Aniki." He muttered under his breath. He dug his hands into his jacket pockets and wondered what Ryuichi was doing and where he was right at that moment. It was going to be one long morning, and at times like this, he just had to hate his College schedule.

---

Shuichi turned his head towards him, smiling that smile that had, on countless many occasions, made Hiro feel everything was going to be alright. "Ne, I'll just give Yuki a call then I'll follow you guys, 'kay?"

Hiro strode towards Shuichi and placed a hand on the smaller man's arm, "Sure thing - you just take your time with your Yuki-sensei…"

"Hiro!"

Hiro laughed, "See you in a bit, don't take too long - otherwise Suguru'll bitch enough and we'll actually leave you behind."

Shuichi looked worried, but there was amusement in his eyes, "That's mean."

"You bet." Hiro grinned.

Shuichi bit his lower lip before smiling at him. "See you later, Hiro - be back in a few minutes." With a laugh, the pink-haired singer turned his back on his brunette friend and disappeared into the dark hall…

"See you later, Hiro."

"Sorry for making you wait!"

Those were the exact words he wanted to hear from Shuichi, if he could somehow come back from the dead. Hiro wished so badly he'd stopped Shuichi, threatened him enough so he wouldn't bother give his Yuki a call. If he hadn't gone off, Hiro knew he would still be alive today.

"God chibi - It's about time you got here!"

"Sorry! Sorry, I ran into some trouble..."

'What the…? Where did that come from?' Hiro cracked an eye open and saw Ruka at the doorway, talking to someone. He opened both of his eyes to get a better look. Ruka was talking to someone and that someone sounded like Shuichi. Too much like Shuichi.

---

Yukito slowed down his pace - turning from a dash to a stead-paced jog - once he reached the second floor. Already, he could hear the faint sounds of music and voices coming from the otherwise soundproof classrooms and feel his heart beating to the rhythm of some pop rock song being played inside the room just around the corner. He smiled inwardly, feeling his heart swell with pride when he thought about his special little high school.

He headed quickly to the 2-B classroom, knowing the way by heart, and slowed down into a walk when the sign with the words '2-B' on it became clearly visible. That's when he reached inside his pocket to pull out the small tinted glasses he liked wearing, especially when they were performing, and then stuffed the Limited Edition CD into his backpack. He smiled, remembering what Tohma said when he asked why the blonde liked wearing hats so much, as he put the tiny specs on. Tohma had said it was for the sake of having a trademark, though later on, it became somewhat of a habit.

For him though, he'd been wearing those specs for as long as he could remember, it seemed, so it wasn't simply for trademark. He couldn't remember though when Ai'd gotten it for him but that really didn't matter since he couldn't remember a lot to begin with. What mattered was today, not the past.

Turning to the empty hall behind him one last time, as if to make sure it was empty, he marched towards the room 2-B door and slid it open.

"Sorry for making you wait!" was the first thing he said when he peeked into the room and saw Ruka's unmistakable red head.

The tall redhead spun on his heels and headed his way, his face unreadable. Placing a hand over the door, he glowered at the smaller brunette at the doorway. "God, chibi - it's about time you got here!"

Yukito winced, wondered for a second there just how long he delayed, and looked away shamefully. "Sorry! Sorry, I ran into some trouble..."

Ruka rolled his eyes and sighed. He shook his head and placed a hand over Yukito's head. "Okay, whatever, chibi. Look," Ruka he bent down to Yukito's eye-level and continued in a whisper. "Grasper's here."

He stopped there and waited for Yukito's delayed reaction, which came a full minute later. The brunette stared at Ruka then with his blue eyes wide. Ruka didn't say anything, but nodded to confirm the question in Yukito's eyes. Seconds later, Yukito spoke finally, "So you're dumping it on me."

Ruka looked away, avoiding Yukito's suddenly accusing eyes. "Two words: sort of."

"Where's Takumi?" Yukito asked immediately, sounding slightly worried. He had a feeling this was important and he was being given a terribly heavy burden. He, at least, wanted someone else to share that burden with, since the carefree guitarist of their band didn't know anything about touring and cajoling people nicely.

"Campus One[1]." Ruka answered quickly, "The poor guy chose to have his Japanese Literature exam today since he knew you won't be available today. But anyway-" The redhead then grabbed Yukito by the collar of his jacket and yanked him into the room, backpack and all.

"Chibi we've made our guests wait for too long already. Go introduce yourself!"

Yukito groaned as he straightened himself up and almost shrunk when he saw the way the members of the famous Nittle Grasper were watching closely. He managed a nervous laugh, ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath before grinning widely at them.

"Well, I have a feeling Ruka's said stuff about me already, but anyway: I'm Fujiwara Yukito." He bowed down formally and, placing a hand over his chest, he continued, smiling wider, "You can call me Yuki and… Ruka and I'll be your host for today."

---

He knitted his eyebrows as he studied the boy before them. He ran his eyes up and down the boy's small form, not quite sure what to think of what he was seeing. Yukito was just about Shuichi's height and build, though he didn't look it because of his choice of clothes which made him look taller and older. Not only that, the seventeen, eighteen-year-old teen looked and sounded just like Shuichi.

Hiro knew that if it weren't ever present in his mind that his best friend was dead, he would have believed Shuichi was playing a joke on them by dressing up as Sakuma Ryuichi and introducing himself as another person to confuse them - no matter how impossible that was. Shuichi had been naughty and childish at times, but Hiro knew the singer would never go that far.

How possible was it for someone to look so terribly like someone else?

He looked up and stared long and hard at Yukito's face and saw something that made him conclude Yukito was, in fact, a different person: His eyes.

When Yukito smiled, it didn't quite reach his eyes. His eyes, round and blue, were dark and clouded unlike Shuichi's bright eyes that gave away whatever he was feeling.

"….You can call me Yuki and… Ruka and I'll be your host for today."

"Nice to meet you then-" Hiro said the moment Yukito finished, shrugging.

"Same here." Ryuichi said, waving at Yukito from where he was standing. "You drive good, by the way, Yuki-chan."

The brunette flustered at the nickname and nodded silently at the singer before managing a mumbled "T-thanks."

Both Hiro and Ryuichi turned to Noriko simultaneously, waiting for a witty remark, or greeting from the only female in the group, Noriko, who was seated comfortably on one of the desks set aside, but found the brown-haired[2] Grasper keyboardist staring at Yukito, dumbfounded. Even K had an amused expression on his face.

Hiro, who guessed the reason for their keyboardist's reaction, stifled a cough to remind the woman where they were and what they were expecting from her. She snapped out of her thoughts immediately at the sound and, after confusedly staring at them, laughed nervously before finally speaking. "Oh um… Nice to meet you to, Yukito." She said, all thoughts of embarrassing or irritating the young brunette in front of them long-thrown out of her mind the moment she saw him. When Yukito only stared back, confused, she cleared her throat and said, "….I think I've heard that name somewhere. Yukito Fujiwara… I think my husband mentioned your name one time…"

She didn't want to say what made her stare like that earlier and was pretty sure the other members of her band had that in mind too, so she quickly threw that remark - which wasn't completely a lie. Before anyone could comment on her previous remark, she quickly shook her head, smiling. "But anyway, forget about that - shouldn't we be starting the tour?" She clasped her hands together and stood up from her seat before placing a hand on her hips.

K, who had turned to checking his magnum's barrel and the bullets in it while Noriko talked, tilted his head up and grinned.

"That's right. We don't have a whole day to wait, afterall." The American took long strides towards the door and there, he waited, watching them amusedly. Hiro knew the American had something in mind, like he always did, but knew it was probably something he wouldn't want to know either and, since this was K, it probably had something to do with guns. Guns and K - those two walked hand-in-hand. Hiro couldn't imagine K without his guns and every time he saw guns, he was reminded of their manager.

Ruka gave Yukito a slap on his back. "Well, let's get going, Mr. Chibi Tourguide."

Yukito took a deep breath, concentrating, before finally breaking into a grin that was too much like Shuichi's. Hiro covered his mouth with a hand, to stop himself from commenting, and waited.

"I'll begin with a tour of the campus, then I'm taking you all to the concert site that's a few minutes drive from here." The brunette spun on his heels and headed for the door. K grinned at him when he walked past the American, before following him outside the room. Ruka followed next and then Noriko.

The female keyboardist stopped at the door to give Hiro a worried sideways glance, before completely walking out. That left Hiro and Ryuichi.

Hiro was stared at the door for a few seconds before turning to his right and voicing the question that had begun nagging at his mind the moment he laid eyes on Yukito.

"You think…" the guitarist began, not quite sure how to put it into words. "…Shuichi… no. How.. possible is it for someone to look like someone else?"

Ryuichi turned his head to him and stared at him with a blank expression before suddenly breaking into a grin. The singer produced the Kumagorou plushie he brought everywhere from his jacket and turned to it, mumbling incoherently before finally nodding and concluding in a quiet, all-too-serious tone.

"So that's why, no da." Ryuichi laughed, evidently back to his offstage self, and then turned to Hiro.

"Let's go, Hiro! They're waiting for us, na!"

---

By noon, the members of Nittle Grasper found themselves in a school filled with music enthusiasts. Students from the other campuses and professional performers, both famous and not, flocked into the Shibuki Campus Two[3]. As Yukito had explained earlier, Shibuki High was divided into several campuses, one of which was dedicated to those who loved Music. Special music-related classes were held at Campus Two, and students moved from one campus to another regularly for their classes.

"That's… a lot." Noriko declared finally, as Yukito led them through the packed halls. Yukito grinned, turning to her. "Yeah, it is. Makes students proud of it too…" He said trailing away, realizing he was referring to himself. They came to the Principal's Office and Yukito stopped right in front of the door, a hand on the doorknob, ready to open it for them.

"I guess all that's left for us to do is show you the concert site later, so after you talk to the Principal… again… um... just find us and me or Ruka will give you a ride." He opened the door for them and waited until they were inside before closing the door and stepping away from the Principal's Office's door. He gave a relieved sigh before turning to Ruka, who was standing behind him.

"Well, that does it, I guess? You think they'll go?" Yukito ran a hand tiredly through his hair and smiled when Ruka placed his hand over his head.

"You did what you could, chibi. Come on, we can check out the rest of the bands while we're at it." Ruka flashed Yukito a grin before taking the smaller brunette's arm in his hand and leading him away. Yukito let out a light laugh.

---

"So you haven't decided yet, whether you'll perform or not?"

Ryuichi nodded, sitting himself comfortably at the seat by the Principal's desk. Hiro headed for the space nearby the window and stood there, watching Ryuichi and Noriko exchange words with the school's Principal.

"We'll need time," Ryuichi began, "to figure things out. But, we have a good impression of your school, no da."

At this, the Principal looked up before heaving an extremely relieved sigh. "I'm glad Fujiwara at least was available…" The Principal declared, shaking his head, before turning to the regarding all the members of Nittle Grasper, plus Manager. "Well, take your time. Whatever your decision may be, we'll be ready to accept it. By the way, have Fujiwara and Izumi shown you the concert site?"

This time Noriko was the one to answer. She waved her hand flippantly, "Not yet. After this, the two said they were going to drive us to the place, though."

"That's good." The Principal said, in relieved tone once more.

"So, we'll be leaving for now, ne? Nori-chan?" Ryuichi shifted his weight on the seat and turned to their keyboardist, smiling childishly. Noriko shrugged. "I suppose, after they show us the concert site we will."

"Well, we'll be waiting for your response then, Ukai-san, Sakuma-san, Nakano-san and K-san." The Principal gave them a low bow before walking towards the door and opening it for them. "Thank you for coming."

Ryuichi hopped off his seat, bounded towards the door, and gave the Principal a childish smile before stepping out of the office. Smiling at their vocalist's childish antics, Noriko followed, only to be met by the sight of Ryuichi narrowly avoiding collision with a speeding girl by mere centimeters.

"What on earth…?" Noriko managed before another girl sped by, then two, then more, all headed for the same direction. "What's happening?"

Hiro followed after her and looked just as confused as Noriko did when another group of students ran past them. Finally, it was K who stopped one of the students for interrogation. The student, a girl who was lugging what looked to be a violin case was fast to answer.

"Ryu-chan and Shu-chan. Playing. Singing. Performing. Have. To. See!" The girl said breathlessly before breaking into a run once more and leaving an even more confused Nittle Grasper.

"O-kay." Noriko said slowly, before turning to her fellow band members. "So, who actually wants to see this?"

"Me! Me!" Ryuichi began bouncing before tailing the next person to run past them. Hiro shrugged and, giving Noriko an understanding look, walked away to follow their vocalist. K laughed and followed after the two and Noriko sighed in defeat. Sometimes, she wondered what their American Manager really did, in terms of 'managing' their band when it was usually her doing things. Then again, she supposed it was just right, since she was mentally the oldest.

The source of all the commotion was a classroom; that was how it looked to Noriko when a bunch of students all gathered outside a classroom came to view. That was, however, until the unmistakable sound of music began filtering out of the room.

Walking closer, the music became clearer, not to mention hauntingly familiar.

ikanaide! sakendemo ano sora e tobu yasei no tori

Never say good bye shinayaka na sono tsubasa yuuki ni akaku somete

The lyrics alone were enough to make Hiro bolt into a run towards the classroom and began squeezing into the crowd to see who was performing and Ryuichi seemed just as interested. The voice though, however good, was nowhere like Shuichi's unmistakable soprano.

omoidashite kindan no amai kajitsu wo

kin-iro no torikago ni ima mo nao aru no ni

Hiro stopped once he had a good view of the performing group before him and noted with slight amusement who were performing. The pink-haired student he'd seen racing Yukito was singing, with Ruka on the guitar and, finally, Yukito on the keyboards.

omoidasu yo hisoyaka na mori no oku de

kono yubi de sotto tsubasa ni fureta ano toki

Hiro could not help but notice the brunette behind the keyboards. Yukito looked different; extremely concentrated on the piece he was playing while at the same time disturbingly calm. "He's good." Hiro found himself saying out loud and, somehow, he could help but think about Shuichi and how things would have been if Seguchi Tohma had not decided Shuichi didn't have the talent to man the keyboards.

"You think so?"

He turned sharply to the direction of the voice and found a slightly younger looking man, who was about his height, smiling at him with eyes narrowed into slits. Hiro opened his mouth to utter a reply when the man laughed softly and, when strands of his long raven hair slipped out of the tight ponytail he wore, tucked them back behind his ear before speaking. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help but comment on that-" With one last smile, the man turned from Hiro to the performing band before them and then began making his way through the crowd.

"Yuki, I thought your flight was today?" Hiro watched the man as he waved at Yukito, effectively causing the young keyboardist to stop playing and give the man a curious glance.

"Takumi?" Yukito stepped away from the keyboards and then marched towards the raven-haired man. The crowd that had gathered groaned but only a few left to go back to whatever they were doing, waiting for another, similar performance, perhaps.

"I thought you were at Campus One taking an exam?" Yukito countered as he pulled the taller man into a hug. "Ne," Yukito said, answering Takumi's question finally before pulling away from the man. "We had a change of plans, looks like we'll be having that vacation after New Year."

A grin formed on Takumi's lips and he walked towards Juni, who had been watching him all that time. He took his place beside the pink-haired singer before looking over his shoulder and going; "The Principal's told me about Grasper, but how about one tiny practice before we show them off to the concert site, Ryu-chan?"

The crowd cheered and Takumi indulged the many females in the crowd by winking meaningfully at Yukito and then giving both Juni and Ruka a playful smirk. Ruka responded by beginning with his guitar, playing a tune Hiro had come to know all too well, being part of Grasper, and he was followed by Yukito with his keyboard, with a few notes before going out for the song.

'Sleepless Beauty…'

tooku de me o hikarasete- Hiro began to wonder just what kind of students they were - especially Yukito. Watching the brunette all that time as he played, he wondered why Yukito had this air of professionalism going with him He just seemed too good, too experienced, as if he was taught to be that way by someone…as if he was under someone's tutelage… someone they knew…

---

The concert site was just a few minutes drive from the Shibuki Campus Two, and truth be told, Noriko and the rest had expected something temporary and typical - like one of those stages they set up on parking lots for the sake of a few nights of concerts. However, the concert site where the said Shibuki Music Fes was going to be held was nothing of the sort. On the site was a building and connected to it was an outdoor stage. There were no seats on the wide, open space on which the stage and building were situated but without a doubt, if seats were needed, they could easily be brought in for a show or two.

"Impressive." K said in English, nodding in approval as he looked about the place. "Do they use this place often?" He asked, turning to Yukito who was making final checks on his car before getting out.

"They do." Yukito stepped out of his car finally, locking the door behind him, before activating its alarm system. "That should do…." He muttered. "Anyway, our school holds mini-concerts once in a while and then there's the school symphonic orchestra and the recitals…. So, we use it quite a lot."

"We have our own club downtown though, so it's used more for those orchestras and visiting performers and all that." Ruka added and signaled with a hand for them to follow him as he made his way down to the outdoor stage. A group or two was practicing onstage, it seemed, and once in a while they would hear the microphones being tested as well as some guitars and keyboards.

"Hello? Mic test? Mic test? 1… 2.. 3… Jake, turn it down a bit… there… that's good.."

"Your own club downtown?" Noriko cast Yukito a questioning glance, blinking.

Yukito laughed, nervously. "Yeah, we do. It's a sort of exclusive club downtown… Nocturne. Maybe sometime… or tonight… we'll show you to the place?"

Noriko 'hmm'ed and folded her arms across her chest, looking thoughtful. "I guess we coul-"

"That'd be great, na no da!" Ryuichi blurted out, "Can Tatsuha-chan come though? Eh, Nori-chan?"

"I… guess… he could…." Noriko said hesitantly before sending a meaningful look to Hiro's direction. Hiro, who understood fully well what Noriko's look meant, heaved a small sigh before raising a hand up. "I guess I'm going too - what time?"

"We can talk about that later - but maybe around eight or nine at night? That good? I could pick you up too…" Yukito offered. He came to a stop, having reached the front stage, and then waited for Hiro's response.

"Sounds good, the time and the picking up thing -" Hiro turned to Noriko, "You coming, Nori?"

The brunette woman shook her head, smiling, "Nah, I'm passing this one up. I'm having dinner with my family tonight."

"It's all settled then? I'm picking you two up sometime between eight and nine, I'll just get your addresses lat--- eh?" Yukito stopped and looked up to the sound of a few chords being played, confused. "Ruka, ASK's practicing today…?" he asked suddenly, giving both Takumi, who had been quiet all the time, and Ruka a slight frown.

At the mention of the group, ASK's name, a shadow clouded Hiro's eyes. Hatred flashed in his features for a few fleeting moments, before he managed to control the emotions raging within him. He managed a look of indifference and tried his hardest to keep even a bit of that hatred for a certain Aizawa Taki hidden.

Ruka looked confused himself, "Weren't they scheduled the day after tomorrow?"

It was Takumi who had the answer though. His voice was flat when he proceeded to explain, "It's Setsuna," there was no bitterness in Takumi's voice, but there almost could have been, "He talked the Principal and Takagi-sensei to give ASK today a few slots."

"That prick." Ruka said offhandedly before turning away, "Well, I'll go and check things out before we show them around the main building."

"Well, well… if it isn't Takumi and Fujiwara." Ruka stopped and regarded the coffee-haired teen who'd suddenly chosen to walk up to them with a snort. "…And Izumi." Setsuna added, eyes narrowing dangerously.

Ruka waved a hand in dismissal, "I'm leaving for a bit, I'll see you guys later then we can show them around-" He turned to Setsuna and his voice took a dangerous tone. "See you around, Setsuna."

"See you around." Setsuna called back, once Izumi was walking away behind him, before locking his gaze onto Takumi and the group he and Yukito was hosting.

"Touring Nittle Grasper around, I see. Peachy, Takumi." Setsuna remarked with a smirk.

"Setsuna-we're all se---" Ma-kun [4] asked, stepping off the stage to Setsuna's side. He stopped in mid-sentence when he felt Hiro's cold eyes on him. "Oh... Hi? Didn't expect to see you around here…"

"Didn't expect to see you around here too.." Hiro replied, putting on a business smile. He took a few steps forward, just so he could stand right in front of the ASK keyboardist.

"Ma-kun? What's the hold up? The sound system's ready… right?" Hiro's right eye twitched. He recognized the owner of that voice. And, sure enough, only seconds later, the dark-haired ASK vocalist, Aizawa Taki, walked down the stage to further question their keyboardist only to find himself face to face with Hiro; A very angry Hiro.

"Hello, Nakano-san. It's been a while." Aizawa greeted politely, bowing his head slightly. Ma-kun let out a tiny cry of protest when he did so.

"A while my ass." Hiro hissed and the air seemed to have chilled once those words escaped his lips. Glaring daggers at the ASK vocalist, Hiro did not see the tall, Japanese woman walk up to them.

"Fujiwara-san? So your band is hosting Nittle Grasper, I see?"

"Ehh… Nanae-san?" Yukito's cry of surprise had Aizawa and Hiro snapping their heads to Yukito's direction.

Nanae laughed softly. "I don't think I've told you, I'm ASK's manager." She looked up and regarded K with a bow. "It's a pleasure to meet you, K-san."

"Same here." The American answered back, grinning.

Hiro stared at Yukito and Nanae for a few more moments as they began talking about the Music Fes, before turning his head back at Aizawa. Aizawa, however, was distracted; his attention fixed on the small brunette talking with their manager.

The distant look on Aizawa's face troubled Hiro, but in a way he couldn't quite describe.

Aizawa looked almost afraid.

---

8:45 pm

Rage was pacing back and forth the carpeted floor, stopping once in a while to glance up at the clock hanging just above the television in her hotel suite. She let out a frustrated sigh before, finally sitting herself on her bed and reaching for the remote control she threw on the bed as an act of frustration minutes ago.

"Just what…" she trailed away and switched the television on. She flipped through the channels, cursing cable TV quietly when she could not find the local channel. She stopped and placed the remote control beside her and then waited…

---

8:49 pm

Seguchi Tohma scanned through the TV guide once again, eyes uninterestingly searching out the show he'd been told about once again, as if hoping, by some chance, he'd read it wrong. The summary didn't change, the meaning was still there.

He looked up and fixed his eyes on the TV. He'd told them, warned them, not to dwell on it anymore. He'd told them to make sure none of it came out. He'd made sure everything was kept wrapped up tightly… hidden… Then why?

He waited.

---

9:15 pm

"…Shuichi Shindou…. Death… proof…"

Not quite sure if he heard it right, Ryuichi stopped. He looked up to the direction of the voice and curiously stared at the huge television hanging above them. It was showing that show Tatsuha liked to watch; the one which was about exclusives reports on various recent topics. He didn't like that show very much, but whenever he could, Tatsuha made him watch it with him.

This time though, he found himself interested on what it was reporting on this time.

"…a footage of the night…"

"Eh.. Ryu-chan, let's go." He felt Tatsuha's arm slip around his. "What's tha---"

Tatsuha trailed away and found himself unable to continue.

---

1:05 am

Drunk.

Tired.

Angry.

Hurt.

Eiri stumbled forward, unable to keep a steady footing. He didn't care anymore where he was, but somewhere at the back of his mind, he knew where he was: He was in the park, where they met; where he met him. Where he met Shuichi. And now, he was in that very same park, hurting, hoping, wishing he could end it tonight.

"Why…." It came as a raspy whisper and he came to a stop, leaning on a nearby bench. He ran a hand through his damp hair, not quite sure whether it was his tears or alcohol that had caused his hair to be so. He couldn't be sure, either, how long he'd been drinking or wandering around aimlessly.

"Damn you, Seguchi…" He hissed, clamping his eyes shut to stop any more tears from falling. Tohma didn't need to hide it from him. Shouldn't have. Shouldn't have.

Once he was feeling up to it, he began walking once more, continuing his aimless journey to his own demise. He could get hit by a car and that would be the end of it .It didn't matter anymore, nothing did anymore. He deserved to die.

He didn't realize, or care, when he stepped into an empty road.

The sound of engines and music reached Eiri's ears and he turned his head to the direction of the sound. Standing out of the darkness was a pair of headlights; a car and it was headed his way. Common sense told him to jump out of the way, but his feet refused, remaining planted on the ground. He froze.

He couldn't be sure if he was hit, all he remembered was seeing the car coming closer and…. and then nothing. But, before the darkness claimed him, the last thing his mind registered seeing was Shuichi, looking down at him, worry and concern brimming in his unique blue eyes.

Yuki Eiri allowed a small and content smile to graze his lips.

---

Shuichi was leaning on the wall, holding his mobile phone close to him. His mouth moved slowly, to say something. The silence was deafening. If he'd said something, nobody would ever be sure. He stood away, finally, convinced about something. A small smile, visible to the camera even despite the distance, lit his face up.

Someone walked up to him, appearing from the edge of the camera's line of sight. There was an exchange of words, it seemed. Shuichi looked surprised and at the same time relieved. The vocalist laughed.

But that laughed died in his lips, as they closed and stayed that way. The man, who was taller, with dark hair, who had walked up to him earlier produced something blunt from within his jacket; a gun.

There was no exchange of words. The man's lips moved, Shuichi took a step back, fear evident on his features.

Someone, about Shuichi's height and build, appeared from behind Shuichi, carrying a piece of wood which he used to hit the singer on the head with, causing the singer to fall unconscious on the floor. Shuichi must have cried, but, his lungs wouldn't have been able to produce that cry as it was so sudden, too sudden.

The one who was about Shuichi's height turned to the man, his lips moving as if to tell him something. Then, his hands moved up to push the tiny glasses, perched on the bridge of his nose, up. The man, taking in whatever the shorter man said, nodded in understanding before aiming his gun at Shuichi's vulnerable back and firing two shots; all in the body, never the head.

There was no blood, at least none was seen.

The shorter of the two looked up, acknowledging the presence of the camera before turning to the taller man and passing an order.

The taller man nodded once more in understanding and he produced another gun from his jacket and then aimed it at the camera. There must have been a shot.

There was static, and then the footage ended there.

---

[1] When I was writing chapter 7, I had this weird idea. Shibuki High School (weird name) is divided into different Campuses. Like, say; a normal one; one especially for the musical functions and stuff like that and one dedicated for business management (which probably looks like one big office too) since it is a school for rich people and stuff like that… Odd? I know…

[2] I like brown-haired Noriko from the OVA. She looked nice… So she's brown-haired here :-)

[3] The Campus they're in and the one dedicated for Music and stuff like that. Wee. ^^;;

[4] Unfortunately, I don't know how you call him without the -kun tag, since Ma just sounds really weird. So, I'm using this one until… somebody suggests something good to get around that…

Anyway, I'll put brief character descriptions for the original characters here, since I know I've made so many and they're confusing… >.< I'm so sorry, Nyoko!

Fujiwara Yukito - (17) Brown-haired, blue-eyes. He's Mizuki Ai's (Anne) fiancee. He lives with Ai and is the keyboardist for Takumi's band. He looks like Shuichi but, character-wise, he's… not quite like Shuichi. He can't sing, and… well, that's a fact.

Mizuki Ai (Anne) - (23) Blonde, green-eyes. A rising Go player. Ai's a bit retarded, but that's because of an accident she had the misfortune of witnessing years back. She's an only child both of her parents are dead. She lives with Freesia and Yukito and is slowly recovering to her past self… (original sketch - copy/paste- : www (dot) angelfire (dot) com/games4/white_crescent/22-10_03_anne01.jpg)

Freesia - (?) Red-haired, green-eyes. Ai's guardian. She's European and is fiercely loyal to Ai. She manages a few of the businesses Ai's parents left and helps Ai arrange her schedule. She knows what goes on here and there and is very protective of Ai and Yukito.

Takahashi Takumi - (18) Raven-haired (long), black eyes. (Try not to laugh, I just realized that with his name.) Vocalist and keyboard player. Like Ruka, he can play both the guitar and the keyboard… but his strength lies on using the keyboards more and then singing. He's not from a rich family and is in Shibuki through a scholarship plan. Setsuna and him have things going between them, rivalry being one of them. (original sketch - copy/paste- : www (dot) angelfire (dot) com/games4/white_crescent/20-11-_03__takumi-sketch_.jpg)

Izumi Ruka - (19) Red-haired, brown eyes (hmm. Can't remember...). Ai's childhood friend. His main strength lies on his ability when it comes to playing guitars. Likes calling Yukito 'chibi'. *_* Cool guy. Him and Yukito are extremely close… (original sketch - copy/paste- : www (dot) angelfire (dot) com/games4/white_crescent/20-11-_03__ruka-sketch_.jpg)

Shimizu Juni - (17) Pink-haired, black eyes. Originally, Juni has long black hair, reaching up to his shoulder. But, for the sake of the Music Fes, he styled it so it's similar to Shindou Shuichi's and then dyed it to pink later on to make distinguishing who he was impersonating for the Fes easier. He's about Yukito's height and is pretty obsessed with Yukito. *_* Bad Luck fanboy. (original sketch - copy/paste- : www (dot) angelfire (dot) com/games4/white_crescent/20-11-_03__nameless-sketch_.jpg)

Setsuna - (18) Coffee-brown-haired, brown eyes. He's a vocalist, just like Takumi and holds some kind of grudge towards Takumi and his band, regarding them as rivals… His band's hosting ASK and he was actually assigned to impersonate Aizawa Taki. (original sketch - copy/paste- : www (dot) angelfire (dot) com/games4/white_crescent/20-11-_03__setsuna-sketch_.jpg)

Kyoko - (19) Black-haired, blue eyes. She's a Business Management student at a high-profile Uni. For some reason, she's pretty obsessed with whatever happened to Shuichi and all that and is bent on finding who's behind it all. Currently top on her list is Seguchi Tohma, whom she believes, never did like Shuichi anyway.

Nanae Kasumi - (28) Black-haired, black-eyes. ASK's soft-spoken manager. A nice person all around… not much known yet ^^;; (and still haven't thought about it.. hmm)

There, done and done. I love Shuusama and Phone Call's later installment. *dies* Talk about foreshadowing… Gotta remember to review Shuusama tonight and make that summary of volume 10 for a friend (you know who you are :-O!). And, finally, I've just discovered the wonders of Rating All for FFnet. Yay for me. Now off to see all those fanfics I missed… MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone, by the way - just in case I don't update before Christmas ^^;;

^_^