Gravitation Fan Fiction ❯ Yuki ❯ Lost Complex (1) ( Chapter 15 )

Takumi hmph'ed, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at the evidence in his left hand. The maintenance team had decided to use sturdy metal wires for the system of suspended platforms across the ceiling, as opposed to the more traditional ropes. They were meant to withstand tons without snapping, to carry people through the wooden platforms above the ceiling without as much as swaying but they certainly weren't made to withstand sabotage. The wire he held in his hand was no exception. With several of its metallic strings curled in a loop, looking very much like human hair when exposed to fire, and then the rest cut neatly, their edges perfectly flat as it shone in the dim light, Takumi didn't have to see any more to know what had been done. They had been lucky nothing of great value had been on that platform, just junk, broken lights, a few paint tins and other working materials. But then, would have been enough to smash the Kyoko's body beyond recognition, considering the height it had been suspended from and the added weight of everything on the platform.

He sighed and gave the evidence one last look of disgust before tossing it aside disgustedly and standing up. It was too easy. He really should have taken matters into his own hands, if he had then it wouldn't have led to this. But it was far too late for him to stop what had been done and all that was left for him to do was to make do with the situation.

"Taking matters into your own hands again, aren't we Takumi?" The mock clear in the voice of its speaker made Takumi snap his head to its source instantly, his dark eyes narrowing dangerously upon instinct knowing who the speaker was. He regarded the coffee-haired young man standing behind him indifferently and returned the condescending smile on the man's lip with one of his own.

"Setsuna, what are you doing here?" Takumi asked slowly, almost pensively. The other teen shrugged and the smile on his lips widened a notch as he began walking towards the raven-haired vocalist with easy strides.

"I just heard about what happened here and decided to see things for myself." Setsuna answered conversationally, his eyes wandering all over the scene as if to display his apparent curiosity. He stopped right beside his rival and began nonchalantly surveying the area from this standpoint, seeming to take in the negative emotions radiating from his rival, before taking small step forward and crouching down on the floor. He picked up the wire in one hand with false curiosity before letting a shrewd smile spread on his lips. "So, I thought my rival would be here so… 'Why not-?'" He continued suddenly, the statement coming off detached as if he'd been saying something in his mind and only decided to say it out loud towards the end.

"What do you want, Setsuna?" Takumi all but hissed and refrained from turning around and openly glaring at the man. He would not debase himself like this and give the man the satisfaction of seeing his usually calm face be marred with an open display of anger. He refused to do so. Setsuna chuckled at his reaction, making him all the more uneasy.

"You hate me that much to think I have an ulterior motive behind everything, don't you, Taku?" Setsuna questioned back in a dangerously calm tone.

Takumi did not answer him and Setsuna threw the evidence on the floor before standing up. He didn't have to look back to know that he was and would always be taller than his fellow vocalist, which made his lips curve into a small smirk. He brushed the invisible dirt on his jeans and turned to Takumi with a predatory smile.

"I'm just here to see how an old friend's holding up." Setsuna told his rival. "We're both vocalists and I hope you haven't forgotten about the competition."

Takumi twisted his head slightly and saw his rival pocketing his hands in his jeans at the edge of his sight. There was a smirk on his rival's face and that he knew because of the voice he spoke with afterwards.

"Even if you insist on forgetting about it or telling everyone else that you're not joining," Setsuna sneered, "And you're playing just for the sake of it… I know you are…"

The sound that Setsuna's expensive shoes made as he twisted and turned on his heels and took several steps forward carried to Takumi's ears, filling the tension-filled air when he failed to produce a witty comeback against that. Moments later, he found shoulder connected with his rivals and he turned his head sharply to meet his rival's brown eyes defiantly.

"Because that's how you are and I won't let you win." A smile flitted across and then the connection was gone, leaving Takumi blinking in sudden disorientation.

Takumi watched as his coffee-haired rival began walking away, his dark eyes fixing on that back questioningly though he wasn't quite sure what he was questioning. When his rival stopped after gaining a few feet's distance from him and locked gazes with him once more, he was taken by surprise.

"So, how did the investigation go, Detective Takahashi?" Setsuna inquired with mock curiosity. Takumi smiled at him coldly and folded his arms across his chest.

"It was an accident. The maintenance team must have missed this one after last month's accident…" Takumi paused and his smile softened, though it did not reach the dark pits of his eyes. "But I'm calling the maintenance team again this afternoon so there won't be any chance of this happening….ever again in the near future, Mitsusawa-san."

Setsuna mirrored the smile on Takumi's face, giving a false sense of camaraderie between him and his rival. He made no attempt however, to disguise the truth his eyes displayed otherwise.

"The school will be glad to know you're doing you're job so well." He remarked before adding, "You've taken after your uncle after all, Detective-san. It must run in the family." He allowed a small doze of sarcasm in his voice before directing a icy smile to his rival and turning away. He waved his hand dismissedly as he walked away and Takumi followed his retreating form until he disappeared from his field of sight with a mixture of emotions he wouldn't have been able to explain and bothered to care about.

Finally, he stalked out of the place, meaning to search for assistance before Takagi-sensei came to check out for his progress.

---

"Yes, Aniki! You look handsommuuuu!"

Eiri rolled his eyes at his younger brother's poor display of his English skills, or his lack thereof. He knew there had to be a catch for his apparent gift when it came to learning languages. It was Karma. The older brother got the brains and the younger brother got the brains in his pants. He stepped out of the bathroom finally, ignoring the less-than comfortable look his brother was giving him and walked towards the bed where a brown leather jacket was spread. He put it on, glad to have something to cover the pieces of indecent clothing on his back and heaved a long-suffering sigh when Tatsuha made a whimpering sound.

"What?" He snapped irritatingly at his brother who was, by now, giving him a pitiful, puppy-eyed look.

"I took all night picking out clothes for you! And… and you're going to cover my masterpiece just like that!?" Tatsuha protested, his voice laced with mock disbelief as he pointed accusingly at his elder brother, who smirked deviously.

"I don't think anyone should call your clothes a masterpiece." Eiri told him and eyed the clothing underneath the jacket with disgust, "Especially if they make you look like two-bit whores."

"Hey! That hurt!"

"Oh, I forget." Eiri drawled, sneering as he shook his head slightly, "You wear these type of clothes whenever you go out with your 'Honey bunny'." Tatsuha opened his mouth and the teenager gaped wordlessly at his older brother who just laughed.

"Tha-that's not fair." Tatsuha said finally, at length while Eiri leisurely sat himself on the bedside and lit himself a cigarette. The older Uesugu craned his head up and grinned at his younger brother innocently. "Huh? What? What's not fair?"

Tatsuha stared at him incredulously and sighed. He walked towards the bed dejectedly and plopped down beside his brother. "You do that and then nobody has a say anymore." Tatsuha grumbled before letting out a loud groan. Eiri regarded him with a 'hmph' and before taking a long drag off his cigarette.

"So are you planning on doing?" Eiri asked after a while, idly puffing smoke and watching them dissipate into the air. He was sure his lecherous and cunning little brother had something planned, he almost always did whenever he put an effort in something. He knew his brother wasn't the type to put effort for nothing and getting Yuki Eiri in leather halter-top that showed more of his chest than it covered, a fishnet shirt beneath it, and matching leather pants complete with a number of completely leather belts was no easy feat. It took a lot of effort… and weariness from his part. He knew, normally, he wouldn't have let Tatsuha even talk about getting him into something like the ones he was wearing now, but he had been tired and weary, not to mention in a state that wasn't normally him. Everything the night before was just unreal, like it never happened before. He wondered briefly, with a tiny smirk, just how much unreal things could get from this point on - he looked forward to reacting justly to whatever else fate had in store for him. He hadn't even given much thought about what he'd do then and now he was virtually locked out of his apartment. He had some serious thinking to do later, that much, he knew.

Tatsuha lifted his left arm and pulled his jacket sleeve up to take a glance of his watch. He smirked at his elder brother, "Well, nothing now though Mika told me to drag your sorry ass down to N-G where she could talk to you about the current situation…." He waited for the quizzical expression on his brother's face before smirking and then continuing, "Then we still have to wait for Ryu-chan. And after that we'll hit the bars and do whatever Ryu-chan wants us to do-"

"You seem to be getting along very well with that Sakuma, hn?"

"Huh, Aniki?" The older Uesugu got up and put off his cigarette on the nearest ashtray before turning to his younger brother.

"Might as well go for a walk." He said simply. Tatsuha gaped. "You might as well call your Honeybunny to go look for us around the block, I feel the need for fresh air."

"Fre-sh…air?" Tatsuha arched an eyebrow and continued staring ahead blankly with a puzzled expression until the sound of the door opening caught his attention. "Oi! Aniki! Aren't you even slightly worried about the fangirls… the media… and… Oi!"

Eiri stopped by the doorway and gave his brother a tiny, smug smirk before slipping a pair of sunglasses on. "Seriously, how many girls do you think expect to see their favorite novelist dressed like a manwhore in the streets of Tokyo, in broad daylight, for fresh air?"

Tatsuha blinked once and then twice at the door and then turned his gaze away. That couldn't possibly his grumpy, grouchy caffeine-addicted Aniki now, could it?

---

His eyes darted from the road to the rearview mirror to get a better look of the fidgeting girl at the back seat and he made a small reassuring smile before turning to the road once more. Fukuyama Kyoko was every bit the simple nineteen year old girl she had introduced herself to be as she sat at the back of his car, long slender, manicured fingers clutching at the hem of her leather skirt as her eyes wandered from her lap to the front occasionally. It was hard to imagine the very same girl was bent on unearthing the mystery surrounding some famous pop star but Yukito was sure she had her own reasons. Reasons he did not mind hearing about though he knew she probably wouldn't tell him….

"I think… if you think it's absolutely worth it then… Fukuyama-san shouldn't just give up." He said finally, hesitatingly, in response to the question he knew had been bothering Kyoko for a while now with all honesty. Kyoko looked up and from the view the rearview mirror offered, he knew he had said the right thing then when her face lit up, literally, turning a few shades redder. Yukito thought that was rather odd, though he suspected it was one of the things girls naturally did. He didn't hang around that many girls, but he knew, at least, they were a lot more sensitive than them.

" I agree with Fujiwara-san here." Nanae added quietly from her seat beside Yukito. She shifted slightly in her seat and turned to the flustered girl. She gave her a gentle smile, "If you think it's worth it, then you should go for it."

"I… " Kyoko whispered before trailing away. "I think it's worth it." She said finally with more confidence. Nanae eyed her closely, her dark eyes imploring her to examine the matter deeper and she frowned and sighed before lowering her eyes to her lap again. She balled her hands into fists and clenched them tightly until her knuckles turned white. "I still don't think it's an accident. Somebody…somebody was out to kill me…."

Yukito pursed his lips, "Well accident or not… I guess you would have come to this choice anyway. To continue or not to continue, Fukuyama-san." He paused and sighed. Takumi had said it was purely an accident and there was nothing intentional about a few cables snapping due to negligence and a few extra tons of junk but even he himself found himself doubting the outcome of the analysis. He trusted Takumi's credibility and if that had escaped a sharp person like their vocalist then the person responsible for the so-called accident was cunning indeed. "If you think it's worth it then… there's no choice but to go ahead, ne?"

Kyoko was silent as she digested what Yukito had said, knowing deep within her he offered nothing but the truth as he saw it. The keyboardist watched her closely, his attention darting back and forth the road and the distressed girl, and waited for her response patiently.

"What…" Kyoko began hesitantly, "What would Kasumi-san do?" She blurted out suddenly causing older woman's eyebrows to furrow a bit with mild surprise. Yukito blinked at the girl before focusing himself on driving again, leaving an ear open for any more progress in the conversation.

Nanae laughed softly, "Excuse me?"

Kyoko smiled sheepishly before leaning forward. Her tone of speech turned inquisitive. It was the kind of tone she used when she questioned anyone connected to the case. "I mean, if you were in my situation… with risks like this, would you…" she trailed away and frowned slightly, "would you… still continue?"

The red light came up and Yukito tuned his attention back to the two young women. He watched Nanae curiously and waited for the older woman's reply with anticipation.

"I probably will…" Nanae began quietly before breaking into a smile and meeting Kyoko's deep blue eyes with her dark eyes, "….quit." She finished quietly before turning away. She turned her gaze to the window beside her and looked out before breaking a simple explanation to her choice, "I'm… not one to take risks, to be honest, Fukuyama-san. There are things you absolutely have to fight for, and things you should learn to let go…. And for me, I think my career and my life," she paused and smiled, "comfortable as it is now, is more important."

Kyoko stared at her and she laughed sofly, "That wasn't very helpful now, was it, Fukuyama-san?"

"N-no…. I… I think that was very helpful." Kyoko broke into a smile and she sat back on her seat before turning to Yukito, whose unreadable eyes were still fixed on the older woman.

"Oi, Yuki-chan, the green light just went on." Kyoko said suddenly, pointing at the traffic light overhead. "Or do you think we should wait for a honk and then some police on patrol to pull up beside us?"

The brunette's blinked once and then shook his head before disorientedly placing his hands back on the steering while. Kyoko laughed amusedly and Yukito hung his head, a light blush reddening his cheeks. "Gomen, gomen… I was just… taken back…."

"I'm sorry, I can just be very honest sometimes." Nanae confessed and Yukito caught her bowing apologetically at Kyoko from the edge of his sight and he shook his head with a slight smile.

"N-no, no, not that way. I meant…." He began in explanation and then paused, searching for the right words to explain what exactly he had thought about it, "I thought it was extremely… honest... to say that. Because I probably would too… but I would have said I'd continue anyway…" His eyes wandered to the rearview mirror again, to watch Kyoko whose eyes were fixed on his very own reflection on it. The College student was watching him with wide, interested eyes. "…even if I wouldn't have, just to make Fukuyama-san feel better. Because, for me, that's the right thing to do… I suppose. But Nanae-san was honest and I think she's right. It depends on the people…"

Yukito smiled, "You can choose to stop now, you lose nothing. But you can continue against all odds and….. see what happens. It's your choice, ne? Fukuyama-san?"

"I won't lose nothing…" Kyoko mumbled quietly, almost in protest, with her eyebrows draw before quickly turning to Nanae for her own two cents.

"Like Fujiwara-san said, it matters to you." Nanae said simply, "If this man was out to scare you and to warn you… then you can choose to give in to him…." She smiled, "Or you can challenge him. It's all up to you. This is your choice."

Yukito grinned, agreeing with the older woman fully, while Kyoko, who seemed completely inspired by Nanae's words, nodded eagerly.

"That was…" Kyoko frowned and then grinned impishly, "Thank You." She said in English before breaking into a hearty laugh. "That was very helpful, you know?" She remarked, "And…. I think I'll give it a thought."

"I think you'll have to give it more than just a thought, Fukuyama-san!" Yukito pointed out jokingly which made Kyoko laugh.

"Yuki-chan…. That was sweet." Yukito blinked, sure there was something wrong about what Kyoko had just said until she spoke again, then all thoughts of that were erased, "Isn't that the Es-NA building?" The black-haired, College student was pointing outside the window to her right innocently and the building in question slowly rolled out of sight. Yukito laughed nervously.

"I think we just passed it…" Kyoko suggested solemnly and noted with amusement how Yukito began look left to write for the next U turn in near-panic while Nanae broke into quiet laughter.

"It's okay, Fujiwara-san, there's no need to panic…" Nanae assured the boy and when he turned to her she shook her head, "You can let me down here, I'll walk to the building - it won't take more than five minutes."

"Are you sure-I mean, Nanae-san…I can…. Drive around and-"

"No, it's okay, I'm sure of it." She paused to take a look at the watch on her right hand and looked up, smiling, once more, "And I have a lot of time for some exercise, I'll be perfectly fine if you let me go down here."

"Are you sure?" The keyboardist pulled up beside the sidewalk and turned to look at the raven-haired woman with concern. "I mean, it won't take long if I dri-"

"It's fine." The ASK manager said, cutting him off effectively by placing a hand on his shoulder and then leaning forward to plant a chase kiss on his cheeks. Yukito spluttered and Kyoko's eyes bulged. "I thank you, Fujiwara-san… for your concern." The older woman pulled away and then gave Kyoko a courteous nod before making a tiny wink only Kyoko could possibly have seen.

"Uh…" Yukito said after recovering from the shock of the surprise kiss. A healthy blush spread across the keyboardist cheeks and he shook his head, "It was… it was nothing….." he paused and swallowed nervously, "Nanae-san…"

Nanae smiled at him again and stepped out of the car. The ASK Manager was just about to close the door after her when Kyoko leaned forward from the backseat and held a pen and a small black notebook out to her. Nanae blinked at the items held out to her and gave the younger woman a questioning look. "Fukuyama-san?"

Kyoko smiled at the older woman and held the notebook and the pen closer to the woman, "I like you, Kasumi-san! And I make it a habit to make sure the people who can be my friends becomes my friends so-" She gave the pen a tiny playful wave for emphasis while she opened the notebook with one hand to an empty page. "You go write down your telephone number and email address, if you have one, right here…!"

Nanae took the notebook and then the pen with a gracious nod and then proceeded to writing her contact information on the notebook. She then handed the notebook back to Kyoko, whose eyes lit up at the Manager's neat and elegant penmanship.

"Thank you, Kasumi-san!" Kyoko put the notebook and the pen back into her bag and grinned, "I'll call you sometime. Let's eat lunch together!"

"I look forward to that then." The Manager said with a smile and turned to Yukito again, "Thank you again, Fujiwara-san. I look forward to seeing you again." After saying that, she closed the door after her and waved one last time through the window before walking away. Yukito watched her for a few moments before beginning to drive again. Kyoko, who had been watching the Yukito for a while, smiled impishly before leaning against the driver's seat.

"You like her." She said in a singsong voice before laughing when the blush on Yukito's cheeks intensified. The keyboardist unconsciously lifted a hand to push the glasses up his nose nervously.

"Uh….well…"

"Ne, Yuki-chan, do you have a girlfriend?" The girl craned her head slightly to get a better view of the brunette, who avoided her gaze but nevertheless kept on smiling. "Do you like older women?"

Yukito was silent. "I'm engaged." He said simply and that statement seemed lift up his confidence. "You… you can say I like older women." He smiled and then turned to her, "Ai… my fiancée… she's older than me."

Kyoko blinked once and then her eyebrow twitched. She stared at Yukito in disbelief. "You're… engaged?!"

"Uh… yes." The brunette laughed nervously and turned away. "Is it… surprising--?"

"YES!" The girl yelled and Yukito began laughing nervously again. Kyoko shook her head then when she realized she'd just yelled and quickly added, "I mean, girlfriend is fine.. I mean, you're all nice-looking and… boyfriend material but... engaged?! That's just unbelievable, Yukito! You're seventeen… and… and.. that's not the age for engagements…"

Yukito stared and she clamped her mouth shut and smiled apologetically.

"If it helps then, Fukuyama-san-"

"You can call me Kat. 'Fukuyama-san' is too formal anyway…" Kyoko interrupted and Yukito nodded.

"I mean.. uh… Kat…" he sighed, "Kyoko-san,… it was arranged." He waited for the girl's response and smiled pitifully. When had the situation become suddenly… uncomfortable?

"So you don't love her?" She deadpanned and his eyes widened. He laughed nervously and ran a hand into his hair.

"N-no, I do love her. It was just arranged…" He stopped and suddenly pointed ahead, "That's the place right? Your Campus?"

Kyoko quickly averted her gaze to the direction Yukito was pointing at and smiled brightly, momentarily forgetting the their less-than comfortable conversation. "Yeah, that's it…" She wrapped her arms around Yukito and grinned, "Thanks for driving me, ne, Yuki-chan?" She took out her notebook and pen again then handed it to him as he stopped the car right beside the gate.

The brunette stared at the items and then made a small sigh before accepting them.

---

The Nittle Grasper vocalist grinned as he watched the familiar blond and raven-haired men walking up to him underneath his tinted glasses, his mind already jumping to what he had planned for them, or more specifically him. When the two were close enough, he held out the small paper bag he carried to the raven-haired Uesugu.

"Your clothes, Ta-chan," He said confidently before turning to the blond and smirking. "Are you ready, Yuki-san?"

The romance novelist sneered and took a drag off his cigarette before finally responding sarcastically, "I can hardly wait."

"I'm sure you'll like it, Yuki-san." Ryuichi told him before walking to his lover's side and linking an arm with him. "I think you'll find it interesting." He paused and continued in a heavy drawl, "Very… very.. interesting…"

"Ne, Ryu-chan, are we going back to the hotel so I can change to this?" Tatsuha questioned innocently and grinned when Ryuichi leaned forward and whispered in his ears, "You can change in the next club we go to… with me. Na.. no.. da…"

---

A small frown marred Tohma's face and he looked over his shoulder warily at the sound of the wooden doors opening and footsteps on the carpeted floor. A flash of gold caught his sight and he turned away, continuing to watch the sunset, or what could be seen of it from his glass window, sure of who his unannounced visitor.

"Ryuichi's gone out now, hasn't he, K-san?" He asked softly, his eyes narrowing every slight with the knowledge that Ryuichi was up to something. He didn't need to see Ryuichi to know for sure he was up to something and the recent events just proved his instincts right.

The American smiled and again the NG President didn't need to see him to know he did. "Yeah, he just did."

Tohma smiled. "Thank You, K-san." He paused and then placed a hand on the window. "How did today go?"

There was a pause, K seemed to be hesitating. "Ryuichi agreed and they're performing on the twenty-fifth. We may get two slots in the show, depending on the outcome of a competition they're holding." Another pause, "You knew that though, didn't you, Seguchi?"

His lip curved into a wide smile and he spoke in an amused tone. "K-san, why are you here?"

He heard the American's low laughter and continued smiling, if not smiling wider. "I'm here to know whether you'll interfere, Seguchi."

"And what makes you think I'll interfere with that? I gave you permission, didn't I?"

K laughed again, "Well, a Seguchi Tohma who doesn't pull strings can't be normal? I like to be sure you won't."

It was Tohma who laughed this time and he spun around and placed his gloved hands into his coat pockets before smiling innocently at the American Manager. "But you wouldn't even know if and when I pull strings and cover things up a bit, K-san. Don't you agree my connections are rather vast?"

"You're right about that." K grinned and took a step forward. "But I'd like to hear you say it still. Give me a piece of mind, Seguchi."

Amber eyes narrowed slightly as they assessed the American Manager who smiled smugly. The silence between them stretched for a few long minutes before a sharp ringing sound cut through it. Tohma automatically walked back to his desk and picked up his cell phone.

K eyed him suspiciously from where he stood across the office and he smiled and turned to him. "Give me just a few moments, K-san. We'll settle things afterwards." He waved towards the sofas and said, "Please, take a seat, K-san, while you wait. I won't take long."

He answered the call then and silently listened to the voice on the other line. K watched the NG President closely when he finally spoke. Tohma's voice was calm, soothing as it always was. "Ah… you're calling about that…" K's eyebrows shot up in curiosity but continued listening on in silence while Tohma continued, "No. I'm busy now. I can't go now. We'll do something about it later though. I'll arrange a time…." A small smile broke on his lips, "I'll see you then….Take care too…"

"You were listening, weren't you, K-san?" Tohma said finally when he hung up. He placed the phone back on his desk and walked towards the American Manager with an amused smile. "That's very unbecoming of you," He said finally.

K grinned, "As a Manager, I make it my business to know what my band… and everyone else around it… is doing." He paused and the grin on his lips widened, "You didn't even bother to go out either, Seguchi. I assumed you didn't mind."

"Who was that on the phone, Seguchi?" K asked finally. The smile on the President's lips wavered slightly, an action that had lasted only a few seconds but the American's expert eyes picked up anyway.

"Mika." Tohma said finally. "She was asking whether I'll be coming home early tonight." His smile turned cruel, "Or are you interested in what we're having for dinner tonight too, K-san?"

"I'm more interested in why you can't make it tonight." K countered, standing up from the sofa. He placed his hands on his hips and grinned. "So, do I have your word about not interfering, Mr. Seguchi?"

The cunning NG President was silent for a long while, his lips pressed into a thin line. And then his lips moved, slowly, carefully forming the words he had thought of saying.

"You have my word, K-san."

The look on his eyes told K 'But that does not matter in this game, doesn't it?' but he smiled anyway and gave a mock nod before spinning around and heading back the door.

"Thank you Mr. Seguchi. That's all I wanted." He said in English and then stepped out the door, ignoring the unreadable look in the NG President's eyes.

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