Gravitation Fan Fiction ❯ Yuki ❯ Precious (1) ( Chapter 10 )

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: Finally, after almost a month of writing and brainstorming, Chapter 10 is finally done! I am so sorry for the long wait and if this isn't the chapter you were expecting. I hope I don't disappoint anyone, but after so much tries, this is the best I was able to come up with. Gomen! If this isn't any good! Once more, I'd like to thank my reviewers (you guys were a great help! My Inspiration!) and for waiting for me… I took forever… Here we finally have… Yukito and Eiri, but they haven't… had interaction… But it's there. I hope everyone likes it… This certainly makes somethings clear now, doesn't it? Comments and criticisms are more than welcome so drop in a review, ne? It makes writing easier and motivates me… And, next chapter, will be the continuation of… this, plus more stuff (Tohma! Yes!). Oh and, Boogie-chan (It's okay if I call you than, ne?) I'll work on that pic for you sometime - I already have an idea ^_^. Still unedited… but…. Here it is. A word of warning: It's… long.. Hopefully, nobody is put off by the length - I'll try and make the next chapter shorter….

Ten: Precious (1)

Yukito's hands were clammy and sweat was beginning to break on his forehead as he waited for the traffic light just above his car to change colors. He was tempted to make a pass but knew all too well, even despite the time and considering what had happened already, a policeman might just be nearby, waiting for an unlucky traffic law breaker. He caught a glimpse of the unconscious blonde man, lying spread on the backseats of his car from the rearview mirror and quickly looked elsewhere, his breath hitching and his heart beating faster both from fear and something else he couldn't name. The light turned green and he exhaled in relief, realizing suddenly that he'd been holding his breath. He stepped on the gas pedal and sped off, hoping to get to the hospital as soon as possible...

'Wait. The hospital?'

He stopped mentally and went through the idea again. He didn't know if he actually hit the man or not, but there was an ugly, bleeding cut on the man's forehead that had, quite horribly, sobered him the moment his eyes fell on it. Sobered - he had been drunk, if only a bit, that was for sure. He knew he should have listened to Ruka but he had insisted he wasn't that drunk and he was a responsible driver. He did deliver the great Sakuma Ryuichi and his companion Uesugu Tatsuha home safely, didn't he? He eased his footing on the gas pedal and slowed the car down, thinking more about the situation he'd gotten himself into. He'd run over someone, who could quite possibly be - he stole glance of the blonde man in the backseat - teetering on the edge of life and death because he had been driving, if only a tiny bit, drunk. If the media got a hold of that, if the people at the hospital started questioning, if Ai found out… There were too many 'If's which lead to one scary outcome to another and Yukito wasn't sure if he was willing to risk it.

He heaved a troubled sigh before leaning his head on the steering wheel, silently praying what he should do and pushing back the tears of dismay that threatened to fall. He didn't like the situation and desperately wished he had listened to Ruka. But the fact was, he didn't, and here he was in the middle of Tokyo, torn between driving the quite-possibly-dying man in his backseat to a hospital and just leaving him for people to find on the road. He paused - that was a horrible alternative, no, he made up his mind, if any, he wouldn't just leave the man out on the streets wounded like that. That would just be too much for his already fragile consciousness.

With a deep breath, he finally sat up and, gripping the steering wheel in both of his hands, stared at the road ahead of him defiantly. He'd find a way around of this and Freesia… Freesia would help him.

He drove around the corner and took the shortest route he knew back to his home.

---

Nakano Hiroshi pushed the empty glass in front of him aside, not quite sure if he wanted to drink anymore than he could if it meant forgetting even for just a few hours. The brunette guitarist sat back, leaning onto the counter behind him, and watched the crowd on the dance floor dancing, almost mesmerized by what the colorful and blinking lights did to their bodies, turning them almost dreamlike. He closed his eyes and wondered briefly where Ryuichi and Tatsuha had disappeared to, not to mention their hosts. He was just about drifting into sleep when somebody sat down on the seat beside him and gave him a light tap on the back.

"Ne, mind if I seat here…?" a tired voice asked and whipping his head around, he found himself staring into a pair of tired, blue eyes; Yukito's eyes. Hiro shook his head and smiled before turning away from the keyboardist. "Nah." He said simply and the younger man sighed in relief.

"Vodka." Hiro heard Yukito order and from the edge of his eyesight, he watched as the bartender handed Yukito a glass filled with crystal-clear liquid which the young keyboardist accepted all-too-willingly. Yukito looked upset and his eyes were in an even darker, deeper shade of blue. The brunette keyboardist proceeded to down the glass of vodka in gulps and Hiro decided that Yukito was, indeed, upset about something. Ignoring the tiny voice in his head that advised him not to interfere, Hiro spun around on his chair and faced the younger man before speaking: "Upset?"

The young man nodded readily and wordlessly before slumping over the counter and swirling the near-empty glass in his hand, causing the cubes of ice in it to chink against the glass. Yukito heaved a sigh and then looked up, offering Hiro a small smile. "Just a bit though." Yukito told Hiro quietly before taking a deep breath and, using his free hand to support him, sat up straight. "I'm… alright now though. I think…just tired…" he brought the glass up and showed Hiro how near-empty it was, "… I think… I've had enough of this for the night…."

"You know, you just don't down vodka like that." Hiro pointed out, finding himself grinning amusedly moments later before adding as an afterthought, "You remind me of a friend…."

"A friend?" Yukito questioned lazily, not really because he was interested but simply because it would prolong the somewhat pointless conversation going on between them. Hiro, who had realized what he'd just said mere seconds after the words left his mouth, nodded simply. No, the last thing he wanted to do was talk about a friend who, according to what he'd seen an hour or so ago, was murdered.

"Yeah… a friend." The statement was final and the subtopic about Hiro's nameless friend was dropped wordlessly.

Yukito left his glass on the counter and looked up at Hiro silently, his blue eyes searching and filled with what Hiro could only imagine as curiosity. The young keyboardist's eyebrows met in a frown before he spoke softly, though it was probably because of the alcohol that was slowly, but surely, taking its effect.

"I heard about Shindou-san - I didn't see it but Ruka told me. I'm sorry about that." Yukito's voice was painfully sincere. An emotion flickered in Yukito's eyes and Hiro thought he saw what lay beneath those cloudy blue eyes for a few seconds. He couldn't pin and put a name on whatever he saw though and moments later, when Yukito slumped down once more on the counter, it was all but forgotten.

Minutes of silence passed between them, though Hiro had this feeling the conversation between them had not ended at all and Yukito was going to say something anytime soon. He was proven right when he heard Yukito's quiet voice, only barely audible because of the loud music that filled the whole club. Hiro actually leaned forward and strained his ears to hear.

"Juni tried convincing Namamoto-sempai I'm better off impersonating Shindou Shuichi….. I wish... he'd just stop." Yukito said softly, before tilting his head sideways and giving Hiro a small smile, "But don't tell him I said that…" Yukito sighed deeply before turning away and burying his face in his arms.

"God, …. have.. have you ever felt like you were in a dream?" Yukito asked in a muffled voice. "Hiro…"

Hiro felt like his heart had stopped beating for a few seconds when heard his name being uttered in a such a painfully familiar way. It was almost as if it was Shuichi who had called him from the afterlife, not the boy with the name 'Yukito' seated beside him but Shuichi; Shindou Shuichi. It was the way his voice trembled, the way it had sounded so needy, so dependent. Hiro was immediately reminded of the way Shuichi's voice would sound at the beginning of a helpless rant about his Yuki. Yukito just sounded so terribly like Shuichi, down from the emotions hidden behind the simple uttering of his name, it was just… impossible.

"I feel like I'm in a dream… and…no matter how hard I try to wake up… I… I… can't." Yukito continued, taking Hiro away from his thoughts. There was a long pause and Hiro waited. "…Gomen, Nakano-san. I… must have sounded silly."

'Nakano-san.' Hiro thought quietly, realizing that Yukito had referred to him formally, not by his first name, this time. Had Yukito called him by his first name and at the same time sounded so terribly like Shuichi… or was it his mind playing tricks on him? It sounded so real and at the same time surreal… like a dream. He found himself thinking about what Yukito had said.

'Hiro…'

'I feel like I'm in a dream…'

"Yuki!"

'..and…no matter how hard I try to wake up… I… I…'

Yukito let out a tiny yelp when Juni launched himself and plopped on top of the keyboardist's unsuspecting back. "Juni… off! … Get… off! Off! Can't… breathe!" Yukito protested, flailing his arms about. Juni let out a loud laugh before leaping off and apologizing quickly to his schoolmate. "Sorry, Sorry, Yuki! I didn't mean to hurt you!"

'… I… I…'

Yukito filled his lungs with air once Juni was off before jumping off his chair, for fear of a repeat performance from the pink-haired teen. "What's up?" Yukito asked in a cheerful, yet slightly strained, voice. Juni gave him a firm nod before taking both of his arms in his.

"Wanna perform, Yuki? Sakuma-san wants to sing Shining Collection with me.." Juni stopped and corrected himself, "… I mean, all of us! We need a keyboardist."

Yukito arched an eyebrow and turned to Hiro, his blue eyes as hopeful as they could be even with the cloud within them. "Are you playing too, Nakano-san?"

'Nakano-san.'

Hiro, thoughtful and not willing to snap out of his thoughts just yet, nodded slowly. "I'll follow you in a bit…" he said slowly with a smile that came naturally.

"Great! We're gonna have fun tonight -" Yukito said, grinning, and Juni elbowed him.

"Can't wait to display your skills, ne, Yuki?" the pink-haired teen chirped and Yukito laughed in response.

"I suppose-" Yukito turned away from Juni and faced Hiro one last time before turning away and heading towards the stage. "Nakano-san, just walk up to the stage... we have everything available there... I'll ask Ruka to set the stuff up, see you in a bit!"

'Nakano-san.'

'…I… I…'

Nakano watched Yukito's back as he melded into the crowd.

'…can't.'

He wondered what he would have said if it was Shuichi who had said that. What would he have said in response? He couldn't stop thinking about the statement and its hidden meaning, if it even had one. Maybe, Yukito was just drunk… maybe he was just drunk and imagining things and Yukito had said something totally different.

It had to be him. It had to be because he wanted to believe in what nonexistent possibility there was of Shuichi being alive, even after being murdered.

Murdered.

"Shu-chan… you were murdered. Why?" he heard himself whispering as he made his way through the crowd and to the stage. Once he was directly in front, Ryuichi was already onstage, holding a guitar with one hand, smiling down at him with his blue eyes twinkling..

It hit him; Why was Ryuichi so calm and unaffected?

"Somebody does know how to play Shining Collection on the keyboards… right? We're missing Nori-chan afterall…" Hiro questioned once he was on the stage. Ryuichi bit his lower lip and looked up, thinking. After a few moments, he looked back down and shook his head, "Dunno, no da?"

Yukito was about to say something about that when Ruka smiled at him from across the stage, a mischievous glint present in his brown eyes. Disappearing into the backstage for a few moments and re-emerging with a black quaker hat, that reminded Yukito so much of the one Tohma liked wearing, he walked up to Yukito with a grin.

The tall redhead placed the hat on top of Yukito's head and then gave the boy a light pat on the back. He stepped away then and turned to the Grasper vocalist and guitarist.

"Chibi can play for us." Ruka announced out loud, coolly, "He knows Shining Collection-" he turned to the young keyboardist before asking in a slightly quieter voice, "You can, right? Chibi?"

Yukito nodded. "Yeah, I can."

Ryuichi grinned at him before giving him a thumbs up and then snatching the microphone from its stand. "You know what to do then, ne, Yuki-chan?"

"Mmm.."

Placing his hands on the smooth keys of the electronic keyboard, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He waited. He felt their eyes on him, waiting too. He had never played Shining Collection in front of a crowd, and known as he was for his keyboarding skills, not to mention surprising skill when it came to playing Nittle Grasper and Bad Luck songs, Shining Collection was downright hard. He wasn't wary about failing however, but rather of the fact that they were watching him.

"Calm down." He told himself quietly, "You are not on stage with Sakuma-san… you're at home…alone… in your music room… yes, at home. At least, you're not singing…!"

He took a deep breath and readjusted the hat on his head and his specs, eyes remaining closed, as if the act was as natural was as breathing for him. Maybe it was. One thing was for sure; after this performance, another glass of vodka would be necessary to calm his nerves once more.

He pressed his thumb on a key and got ready to lose himself to the piece. As soon as the first few solid notes of Shining Collection filled his ears, he forgot where he was and who he was. It was the music which mattered suddenly and nothing less but he knew all too well how everything would come crashing back after the performance. And by crashing back, he meant it.

---

"Yukito looked out of it."

The words left Hiro's mouth in a soft whisper. Takumi who was seating just beside him shook his head with a light chuckle before releasing the glass in his hand and tucking in the locks of raven hair above his eyes behind his ears.

"He wasn't that drunk, he'll make it safely." Takumi breathed in reply.

Hiro contemplated on Takumi's words for a while before finding himself dwelling on what happened between him and Yukito. The boy's words were haunting him again, refusing to leave his mind. Those words, spoken by any other person wouldn't have mattered much, but they were spoken by Yukito, who already looked uncomfortably like Shuichi, with so much conviction and painful resemblance to Shuichi's voice. It was just… he couldn't find the right words about it but he knew that if he broached the subject with Takumi, who was one of Yukito's friends no less, he would get nothing but a strange look.

He inhaled deeply and looked up from the glass of water he held, turning his attention from it to Takumi. Not quite sure what to ask, he spoke the first thing that came to his mind. "How long have you been friends?"

Takumi gave him a look, one that showed a tiny bit of surprise, "Ruka… Yukito… and me?"

"Yeah." Hiro said, shrugging. He didn't care much about that but it was the first thing that came to mind, and it was keeping his mind from thinking about a certain murder and blue-eyed brunette.

"Three years, more or less for Ruka…. For Yukito though…" Takumi trailed away and paused for a few moments before continuing. "I met Yukito last year, we've been friends since then."

"Close friends, huh?"

"Close friends..." Takumi repeated with a slight, almost bitter, chuckle. "They don't treat middle-class people differently like a lot of them from my school, but I suppose it's because they understand what it means to have burdens…."

Hiro frowned. "Middle-class?"

"I'm not rich." Takumi said flatly and there was a certain chill in her voice that silenced Hiro, almost sent shivers down his spine. After a while of silence, Takumi spoke again, "Nakano-san, I'd like to tell you for once… about our school; don't think that everyone in it falls into the stereotype for rich people. It's like two different worlds… And maybe, we can't get along together… don't belong together… but... I've come to realize that they have burdens too… I'd like to make sure you look at our school just like any other school…"

"What makes you think I have something against your school?"

"Nothing, really. But I wanted to clear that. I just felt like everyone thinks that way about rich people… and even if I'm not one of them, I'd like to speak for Yukito and Ruka… at least." Takumi turned to Hiro and his obsidian black eyes were dark and serious. "But I'm glad, Nakano-san doesn't think like that… It's quite a relief. I hope you don't mind - I get dramatic sometimes." Takumi gave him a smile before returning to his drink and taking a tiny sip from it.

"Takumi, can I ask you something?" Hiro asked after a length of silence and the raven-haired vocalist turned to him, eyes clearly telling him to go on.

"Yukito… what do you know about him?" He chose his words carefully, trying not to sound too curious, or odd. Takumi gave him an odd look before a knowing smile formed on his lips.

"He looks like Shindou-san, doesn't he?" Takumi asked back with a hint of amusement and Hiro frowned even more. Takumi, ignoring the Grasper guitarist's reaction, ran a hand through his black hair and frowned at himself before speaking in a wistful voice. "Not much, really. He's not the type to hide secrets, he doesn't even look like he has any…. But, for sure, he didn't have a surgery for that face."

"A surgery?"

"There was that rumor running around before. He may not look it, but he used to have a lot of envious classmates after him -" Takumi's face hardened, and his voice quieted down. "Not the best thing to do to someone who'd just recently woken from a coma-"

"He was in an accident?" Hiro asked suddenly, the surprise audible in his voice.

Takumi placed his fingers over his lips and thought. "I don't know… really." He whispered, realizing his own ignorance. "But Ruka should know…" he breathed and just then Ruka came up to them, a tipsy Juni on tow.

"Sorry to have you two waiting, but little Pink Tinker Bell here just decided to puke all over the restroom floor…" The redhead said bitterly, shaking his head and eyeing the pink-haired teen dangerously, "God, I swear I should stop chibi from hanging out with you so much. I'd hate to see you rubbing off him."

Takumi got off his seat and stretched his arms out. "About time we left, I think if I stay any longer I'm going to end up deaf." The raven-haired teen lightly tapped on Hiro's shoulder and was about to head out of the club when he remembered something. He turned around sharply and met Ruka's gaze.

"We we're just wondering about it, by the way." Takumi began, "That accident with Yuki… what was it?"

---

Yukito walked up to the front door before pressing the doorbell once, twice and then a third time before finally giving up and leaning forward to press his sweaty forehead against the smooth surface of the door. The mansion had to be empty. Freesia was probably gone, to Kyoto to assist Ai probably, otherwise she would be there to open the door for him not long after. The European woman had made it habit to wait for his arrival no matter what ungodly time he came home from his late-night partying even if he had told her many times not to bother. She wasn't here though, not right now and that meant she had probably left for Kyoto suddenly.

With a deep sigh, he stepped away from the door and produced the set of house keys he carried away from a hidden pocket in his jacket and slipped a key into the keyhole. After opening the door, he stopped, his right hand resting on the doorknob, and glanced back to his car. He'd left the lights open so he could see the silouhette of the man he'd had the misfortune of, literally, running into clearly. Feeling guilt wrap its bony fingers about his heart, he looked away and headed into the mansion, leaving the door open as if by closing it he was declaring a choice to abandon the man. He did not want to do such a thing.

The mansion was unusually silent and he could hear his heart thumping in his ears clearly, each beat a sign of his anxious heart as he made his way to the living room where he knew the telephone would have a message from Freesia. He was right, in the dimly lit living room, a beeping red light stood out and he quietly marched towards it very much like a man marching to his death. Yukito pressed the button and very soon Freesia's voice filled the thick silence that had befallen the mansion.

"This is Freesia." the message began and he felt a bit relieved when he recognized the thick accent Freesia had whenever she spoke in Japanese. He heard Freesia taking a deep breath after a short pause, and then she continued in English, "I'm at Kyoto right now, as I speak. Ai's stay will be longer and we won't be back until next week--" Freesia paused and a small smile spread on Yukito's lips; the woman must have been checking her organizer's calendar. "The 27th or 28th. The change of plans was so sudden I wasn't able to inform you. I'm sorry, Yuki."

"It's okay." Yukito whispered, seating himself on a nearby sofa and bringing a hand to his forehead to rub at his throbbing temples. The alcohol was finally taking its effect. "I suppose.. it's better this way."

"Until then, take care Yukito. I have already told the servants so they should not give you any trouble, at all. I have to go now. Goodbye." Freesia finished in Japanese and after a click the whole mansion was plunged into the thick uncomfortable darkness Yukito dreaded. He got up the sofa finally and paused for a while to think about what he was going to do. Then, he headed back out of the living room and the mansion. He walked over to his car and threw the backdoor open before looking down at the man with an unreadable expression on his face.

"You are not dying in my car... whoever you are." Yukito said, a statement that seemed to be more to himself than the unconscious blonde lying in his backseat. He stared at the man for a few moments before mustering the strength and carefully taking and placing the man's right arm over his shoulder and then slowly carrying him out of the car as best as he could. It was a slow process and Yukito took his time, carefully making sure he wasn't hurting the man anymore as he half-carried him towards the porch like he were only drunk, not unconscious or possibly dying. Why couldn't he get the thought of the man dying out of his mind? It bugged him to no end and he… didn't know why. He took a rest once they reached the front porch and he carefully laid the man down on his lap before wiping the beads of sweat on his face. He looked up and found himself staring at the small round lamp on top of the porch as he thought about what to do next. Then he lowered his eyes, slowly as if he was afraid of what was on his lap, and found himself entranced. Something about the man changed under the lamplight. He looked different, peaceful and someone - not just any man he accidentally hit on the road. Someone.

He reveled at the way the man's soft golden hair fell above his eyes and plastered on his sweaty forehead. Even the ugly cut on the man's forehead with the dried blood forming around it did nothing to detract from his almost ethereal beauty. Yukito found himself gasping and before he realized he was doing it, he had freed his right hand and begun to carefully brush the hair from his eyes, almost feeling disappointed when he saw them lidded. But what was he expecting from an unconscious man, anyway?

But... still, he wondered what kind of eyes lay beneath those eyelids. He looked like a foreigner so was it blue? An exotic shade of gray? Or was it regal green? He found himself holding his breath when his fingers traced the man's thick, blonde eyelashes but he stopped himself before his fingers could pry those eyes open. 'It would be better if those eyes would...' he paused, wondering suddenly what had come over him.

What was he thinking?

Taking another deep breath, he shook his head off in an attempt to gain whatever sanity he had lost when he did those things. It just… wasn't normal. "Okay. Let's do this Yuki… you can do this…" he told himself as he wrapped his arms around the man's mid-section and began half-dragging him inside his house and heading for the stairs.

"I'm…. glad …..Freesia wasn't…. here…" Yukito declared in between gasps as he ran a hand through his hair, very much aware of how damp it was and how he felt like he had just walked through torrents of rain. He felt hot and he was sure his cheeks were burning and tinted deep red. He caught his breath first before turning to the sleeping man on his bed beside him and breaking into a warm smile. "I don't think Freesia would have kept quiet if she were here… And if Ai heard… she'd probably take away my license.. or buy me a Volvo… which isn't cool."

The man looked better and, except for the white bandage wrapped around his head to dress his cut - which, much to Yukito's relief, didn't need stitching and wasn't as bad as he thought. It wouldn't even scar -, he looked fine. Yukito had the First-Aid lessons Ai had him take last year to thank for that.

He rose up from his bed and began stretching his arms. "I'm being an idiot. Talking to you like this…" he trailed away and glanced down at the clock on his nightstand. "What time is it? Oh… two? Gotta set my clock for tomorrow…" He padded towards the nightstand, meaning to set his clock's alarm, when he caught something glint at the edge of his sight. He turned to his left, searching for where the glint had come from and found his eyes resting on the man's right hand. On the man's ring finger was a simple silver ring and Yukito realized he hadn't noticed that before. So, he thought, the man was married? Or was it engaged? He couldn't remember which hand was for which but he knew it was either on of the two.

Against his better judgement, he found himself kneeling on the bed and looking at the ring closer. He remembered the silver ring he wore around his neck and wondered briefly if the man had bought it for his girlfriend, or fiancée, during that time he did. It had been really 'in' that time, Ai told him, because a celebrity or two were seen sporting rings like that.

"I wonder what he has written in it?" Yukito licked his lips and, sure the man was fast asleep, slipped the ring off to see what was engraved in it. He read the English words engraved on it in tiny print out loud, "Shu-chan?"

He remembered his own ring and Ai's. The one Ai had had her English name engraved on him while he had his own nickname 'Yuki' engraved on his. Was Shu-chan the man's nickname then?

Yukito looked the man over and frowned, deciding it couldn't possibly be his name, or nickname. It just didn't fit… He shook his head and turned his attention on his alarm clock and then set its alarm before heading out of the room.

He still had to work on that song he was writing.

---

"Yukito… was in a car accident." Ruka said abruptly as he got into his car. Takumi, who was in the backseat with Hiro, frowned slightly. "In America?"

"Yeah… in America." Ruka nodded, slipped his car keys into the ignition and started the car. "It's something we don't really talk about."

On the front seat, Juni squirmed, head bobbing from one side to another as he muttering incoherently about Yukito and something else. "I see…" Hiro trailed away before, shaking his head and leaning back on his seat. "I noticed something…." Hiro began, "You sing. Takumi sings. The pink-haired kid sings. Does Yukito sing?"

Takumi shook his head at him. "He's the keyboardist." Takumi answered before Ruka could. "He's learning the guitar right now… but he can't sing."

"Yeah, chibi can't sing." Ruka added, watching them over the rearview mirror and regaining that usual playfulness in his voice.

"Last time Yukito sang, he coughed up blood…." Takumi said conversationally and when Hiro's eyebrows furrowed, he let out a light laughed. "I'm joking, of course. But he came close to it, I think. Looked it. He just can't sing… it takes too much toll on him."

Hiro thought.

---

Yuki…

Yuki… wake up?

Eiri woke with a start and the first thing he realized was the fact that he was not in his room. He ran brought a hand up to his forehead, were he felt the soft bandages on his wound and frowned. Where was he? He looked around and saw nothing… familiar, except for the lot of Nittle Grasper and Bad Luck posters on one wall. Bad Luck.

Shuichi.

His eyes widened when the image of Shuichi looking down at him worriedly came back to his mind. He jumped off the bed and headed for the door, not caring for the slight headache he had. He stepped out of the room and into a corridor where he found himself not knowing where to start. To the left, or to the right? Either way led to…. He couldn't see past the thick darkness.

Yuki! Yuki!

"Shuichi… where….?" He whispered softly, voice trembling slightly.

Call me later, okay?

Love you so much…

He gritted his teeth and clenched his eyes shut. Where was Shuichi? Why wasn't he here? He had been there, he had been looking down at him, watching him with those unique blue eyes. Where was he?

"nigiyaka na hitogomi ni tokeru tsubuyaki ga

ashi moto ni chirabatta omoide nijimaseru"

A quiet voice sung, filling the deafening silence with warmth. His eyes widened and he strained his ears for the voice, hoping it wasn't just his imagination. Sure enough, the voice continued in its singing.

"mayoi aruku machi no kagayaki wa glaring one way

kogo e sou na boku o terasu"

"Shuichi…." He breathed huskily before breaking into a run, following the source of the voice.

---

No number thingies... for now. But, here's my response to reviews :-) This one has both the reviewers for Gurabitshiyon.net and FF.net (THANK YOU!):

Boogie-chan - I'm so sorry for the late update! But! You pretty much smelled right… yes… Eiri/Yukito… : 3 I hope you liked this chapter… really.. worked.. hard.. >.< It's so long! I'm sorry!

Hikaru Itsuko - Yes… it was Yukito who hit Eiri. I'm sorry for the cliffhanger, but… my muses were evil. So, maybe this answers some questions?

Pato San - Here it is.. it's not the actual meeting, but it's there, ne? Wait for the next chapter :-) And I'll finally have Tohma back next chapter too! Joy! :-D Not to mention Kyoko…

rulerofthecows - You got like.. two or three out of that right, basically. *wink* There wasn't any Aizawa here as I'd originally planned.. but I hope this answers some of your questions.. oh sap. >.< I hope this was okay…

Ariane Adora - I know I really screwed up on that, I should have said something about that at the beginning of two so it doesn't throw people off… but I'm glad that's not much of a problem now! About the original characters - do they stick out bad now? ^^;;

Seishiro - *glomps* It doesn't have the Tohma scene that I showed you , but I'm getting there.. how was this? :-)

XTsukimiOdangoX - *bugs* I'm glad you're liking it… >.< Being told that by a great writer like you makes me feel a bit more confident about my writing skills ^^;;

Rachel Rom - ^^;; I don't know if you've read this far… but… thank you for liking it :-)

Aiko-chan - And this only has a bit of Ryuichi… but hopefully he'll be appearing more next chapter :-D! ^^;; I'll work on that… I'm… *blushes* glad you and your friends love this fic and that you're liking Tohma some more… hee.. I like Tohma too ^^;;

Nyoko - I'd originally had the explanation and analysis for the footage, but that would have to wait for next update where there would be more… Murder-plot related stuff. (It has Tohma :-D) For now, I'm developing… a subplot. I hope this wasn't so bad though.. It's.. long.. I know…

Fangel - I'll think about it : 3 And they'll get what they deserve.. (Gomen! I missed you when I first wrote this..XD)

There and done… Read Shuusama and Phone Call and Pato San's War of Hearts and I am in love with said fanfics.. Joy! The world is filled with Gravi fanfics - and music, from RahXephon. I'm off… Happy Chinese New Year! Just in case I don't update next week ^^;; See you people next update and hopefully nobody is put off by the length of this chapter…

^_^