Smile for Me
Prologue
On a cold winter's evening, in the mist of the bustling streets of Shinjuku, Japan, a young disheveled looking street singer named, Hibiya Eikichi, stood by the brightly lit sidewalks, singing a heavy tuned song as he played the worn strings of his guitar. His loosely bandaged hands skillfully played each note to perfection alongside the dark voice that edmitted from his chapped lips. The freezing winter air blew harshly against his bruised hands and cheeks, causing them to become numb and turn an unhealthy shade of blue. Hibiya barely paid attention to this however, as his mind was focused solely on the song he played.
Hours later, when his fingers became too numb to play even a single note, the street singer stopped his preformance and began to collect his belongings off of the pavement. The open guitar case he had placed nearby was filled with all sorts of coins which the singer emptied into his waist pouch before packing his guitar into its case.
A sudden gush of wind blew passed him as he did this, blowing the dark hoodie off of his long raven locks and revealing the true extent of his battered features. Some noticed and openly gasped while others pretended not to have noticed. Hibiya ignored both reactions and silently slipped his hoodie back in place tightening his scarf to hold it in place. When his guitar was packed he slung the case over his back and headed to the nearest convenience store.
There Hibiya brought a small packet of apple flavored cigarettes alongside a copy of Marukawa's monthly litriture magazine, Jade. Immediately after he left the store the street singer slipped one of the thin cancer sticks in between his lips and inhaled its toxic smoke into his lungs. A content smile graced his tired features as he exhaled. After a few more puffs Hibiya headed to the nearby park to read the magazine he had bought.
He sat on one of the park's wooden benches, smoking through his pack of cigarettes while reading one of Yoshikawa Touma's latest works. By the time he'd finished reading he was down to his last cigarette. Seeing this the street musician let out a long sigh.
Normally at this point Hibiya would have gone home to his apartment but, that day, for some reason he just couldn't bring himself to do so. Though the coldness of the winter air froze him right down to the bones it was better than returning home to the petty human he had for a lover.
Sometimes Hibiya thought of running away. After all they were living off of his daily earnings so he'd have no trouble with money and stuff. But whenever those thoughts entered his mind Hibiya was reminded of the times when he and his lover had been happy. When he had laughed alongside the brunette and enjoyed every moment of the time they spent together. Hibiya had always hoped that one day he would be able to change his lover back to the way they were. But as time passed and the scars on his wrists increased the street singer no longer knew what to hope for.
The worn out singer let out a long, weary sigh and hung his head out of exhaustion. As the puddle beneath him reflected his miserable face he couldn't help but chuckle at how pathetic he must have looked to the people passing by. He was reminded of what he used to say to one of his high school underclassmen when they met at the library.
"You should smile more kid. Life's too short to be frowning like that."
The stubborn underclassmen would reply with a 'hn' at this which would always cause Hibiya to chuckle and ruffle the younger male's wild raven locks. The memory of how the younger male would growl in irrtation had Hibiya chuckling all over again.
Feeling nostalgic the street singer decided to do something he hadn't done in years, visit the public library. He didn't know if it would still be open but hoping it was Hibiya headed to the bus station and took the bus to the public library. Thankfully it was still open and with a wide smile on his face Hibiya began fingering at the bookshelves, searching for a book to read.
He came across one in the foreign book section and was about to take it out of the shelf when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. When he turned around to see who it was Hibiya came face to face with a familiar raven haired man.
"M...Masamune?" Hibiya asked tremblingly.
"Long time no see Hibiya-senpai." Takano said, smiling at his old senpai.
"Ah. It's been a while hasn't it...I can't believe I met you all the way out here in Tokyo." Hibiya said chuckling.
A sense of warmth filled Hibiya as he heard the man's familiar voice but then he was reminded of the state of his face. He quickly lowered his hood to try and hid the bandages stuck on his face. Luckily he was a lot shorter than Takano, being only 169cm, so the younger male couldn't really catch a glimpse of his face.
"Say you must be about 26 right? Have you graduated yet?" Hibiya asked.
Takano nodded and replied, "I have. I'm currently working as an editor-in-chief to Marukawa Shoten's Emerald magazine."
Hibiya whistled at this. "Never took you as a guy who liked shoujo manga." He teased and locked arms with the younger male. "Come on you have to tell me everything."
Smiling Takano allowed himself to be dragged to the nearby bar where he had a chance to catch up with the older male.
"What about you senpai. Are you still preforming?" Takano asked.
"Yeah, but only on the streets. I usually preform near Shinjuku station. It's a few blocks away from Marukawa's building but I'm usually there till 10 so you might be able to see me if your lucky." Hibiya answered.
Chatting with Takano had felt like a dream to Hibiya. It had been years since he had contact outside his lover and the warmth it brought it was something he never wanted to let go.
That thought was soon crushed however as the street singer's phone rang and the name, Satoru appeared on the screen.
Hibiya's hands trembled as he picked up the phone and in his shock he bolted up causing his hood to fall down once more. As Takano saw Hibiya's battered face his eyes widened in shock. He tried to stop the older male from leaving but by a split second his hand missed Hibiya's and the street singer was able to run off.
Hibiya rushed to the train station as fast as he could to catch the last train home. He managed to do so and bolted once the train came to a stop at his station. He ran full speed to the apartment complex and hastily ran up the stairs to his apartment door which slammed open the moment he rang the bell.
The drunked brunette who had opened the door grabbed Hibiya by the collar and hurled him into the apartment before closing the door behind them.
He slammed Hibiya roughly against the wall and shouted. "WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU YOU BITCH!"
"I fell asleep at the station." Hibiya choked out, earning a harsh slap from his lover.
"DON'T TALK BACK TO ME YOU FUCKER!" He growled. The brunette man then started stripping the helpless singer who did almost nothing to stop him.
By the time the man let Hibiya go the street singer was covered head to toe in hickeys, bruises and sweat while his thighs dripping with liquids. As his lover stormed out the apartment Hibiya lay limply on the tatami mats, wishing he was still back at the cafe with Takano.