Yuki: I'll be surprised if this doe well… I doubt your writing's any good.

Yoruko: Shut up, and please get out. Oi! Who let Yuki-baka in!

Tohma: Sorry, Yoruko-san. He snuck in when I came, and I couldn't talk him into getting out.

Yoruko: If you really tried to get him to leave, it's ok. If not… well, no use crying over spilt milk.

Ryuichi: When do I get Shu-chan, na no da?

Yoruko: If I get to borrow Kumagoro for a day, I'll post one of my ideas where you get him instead of Yuki the jerk very soon.

Ryuichi: Kuma-chan says it's a deal, na no da. *hands Yoruko Kumagoro*

Yoruko: *smiles* Thank you for cooperating, Kumagoro. I hope you don't mind helping Shuusuke, Seiichi, and me come up with some… ideas.

Ryuichi: Kuma-chan is the best at coming up with ideas!

Yoruko: You and Seguchi-kun can join us if you'd like.

Ryuichi: Okay! Sounds fun!

Tohma: Very well, Yoruko-san.

All three: *leave together after watching in amusement as members of Akatsuki drag out Yuki*

Disclaimer: I highly doubt I'd be writing fanfiction if I owned anything I write about.

Summary: Shuichi and Yuki fought again, leading to poor Shuichi getting kicked out again. But this time, instead of going straight to Hiro for comfort Shuichi wanders around to think things over and clear his head. Lost in thought, he ends up at his cousin Kagome and her family's shrine. She makes him realize the truth about his situation with Yuki, and they decide that he'll move into her apartment with her. Then, she ends up becoming a part of NG Records. Plus, Kagome and Ryuichi seem to be really close, and something is different about Hiro's interaction with Shuichi. Could this be the chance that Shuichi and Hiro never took in high school?

Pairings: Kagome/Ryuichi, Shuichi/Hiro, Tohma/Mika, maybe Tatsuha/Suguru

Prologue: A Chance Meeting

It was the same as it always is. Shuichi and Yuki got into yet another fight. Because, of course, Yuki is a jerk… which Shuichi sometimes either forgets or fails to admit. Naturally, Yuki being the indifferent, noise-despising or overly-easily distracted guy he is, kicked Shuichi out; again. This was always happening. By now it had become a regular routine- Shuichi gets kicked out for no genuinely valid reason or leaves because of something Yuki said. Shuichi is found by Hiro who either takes him out to eat then to Hiro's house or Hiro just takes Shuichi to his house, where they usually order pizza and watch movies. Sometimes he's there for over a week.

This time, though, is different. Shuichi is hurt and confused. He knows that his relationship with Yuki is rocky at the best of times. He also knows that he has no way of knowing that Yuki is even faithful to him. Shuichi knows that their relationship just may be worse than ever, and the reason they fought this time was because the singer tried to talk to the author about his concern that he's not faithful… when all Shuichi had said was that he just wanted to know. What's worse, Yuki neither admitted to nor denied the concern.

On top of it all, Hiro was becoming more and more worried about Shuichi, asking him if 'he's still sure he's happy with the jerk', and even Ryuichi, who had generally simply trusted Shuichi, supported for him, and been there for him in general, was starting to say that 'Ryu-chan knows that Shu-chan cares about Yuki-san, but Kumagoro doesn't like how Yuki-san treats Shu-chan and we're both worried that you'll lose your sparkle.' So the pinkette was just aimlessly wandering around Tokyo, lost in his mind trying to sort out his thoughts and feelings and clear his head.

Shuichi, who was mostly staring at the ground rather than paying any actual attention to where he was going, found himself at the bottom of steps to a shrine. This shrine… Shuichi looked around to confirm his suspicions. Sure enough, this was it. The shrine that his late uncle's family lived on- Higurashi Shrine. Shuichi began the trek over the overly-big set of stairs, which was still familiar in spite of how long it had been since his last visit. Shuichi had been here a lot as a child and teenager, and had also always been what a ridiculous number of people saw as ridiculously or surprisingly fit for someone like him. It had been years since Shuichi had last been to the shrine, and almost as long since he'd last seen his relatives.

Once at the top, Shuichi headed straight for the Goshinboku at the same sedate pace he'd been wandering the streets of Tokyo at. He sat down on the bench so that he could pull his knees to himself. It made him feel better, and helped him think when he was upset, alone, or both upset and alone. Right now, the latter was the case. Shuichi didn't know how that made him feel. On one hand he was almost relieved because it gave him more space to think, but on the other hand he felt really lonely and could use some company and some comfort.

Shuichi wasn't alone for long. After no more than a few minutes, someone came and sat down on the bench next to him, then pulled him to their side. This embrace… It was familiar. The very same embrace that comforted him every time he was upset but Hiro wasn't there for him, simply every time he was upset before Hiro. It was the embrace that made him feel better when he and Hiro were still in high school and he'd been upset when not only was Hiro quitting therefore breaking up Bad Luck but he'd also been upset because they'd thought and because of the things he'd said. He looked up at the figure.

"What's wrong, Shu Shu? It's been a while since you wandered or came here and this part of Tokyo is a bit far from where you live."

"Kagome…"

Indeed, it was Kagome Higurashi, his cousin. The older sister he'd never had. She was always there for him, and sometimes she even knew him better than Hiro did. His cousin, who was in her mid twenties by now, was more beautiful than ever- in her later teenage years she had really come into herself. Her blue-black hair had grown down to her waist over the years, and she'd taken to braiding it or wearing it in a low ponytail when it was in her way. (AN: by 'low ponytail' I DON'T mean how Sango & a bunch of other women in the Feudal Era in Inuyasha wear their hair.) Her blue-violet eyes still had that sparkle but had gained wisdom over the years. One thing had changed about her personality: she was more stubborn than ever, and could no longer stand girls like her old 'friends' Yuka and Eri. She also refused to wear a skirt… except for a kimono on occasions where she HAD to wear one, and even then she wore pants under it.

"Talk to me, Shuichi. What's wrong? You're about to cry, and I don't mean the sort of crying you usually do when frustrated, angry, overreacting, or upset."

Shuichi looked at Kagome, right in the eyes. Kagome noted that he was probably even more upset than when Hiro had tried to quit Bad Luck just because his parents had expectations. If it was what Kagome thought it was, there would be hell to pay.

"It's just all going so wrong, Kagome, and I don't know how much more I can take."

Kagome thought she understood. She'd been through something like this with her started out as a near-crush that eventually diluted to simply friendship with Inuyasha.

"Let me guess… It's Yuki. He's turning out to be the opposite of the fairy tale hero, prince charming, or knight in shining armor you thought he was?" she stated more than asked.

"Yeah… when I started to pursue a relationship with him, I thought he was just a little rough around the edges, but it hadn't mattered, because I cared about him… thought that I loved him. I just thought…"

"You thought that if you could just be there for him, that it could help him and maybe even melt the ice around his heart?" she finished.

She knew the feeling… she'd thought that if she could just be there for Inuyasha as a friend, show that she didn't care about what he was, that it could help him get over his rough child hood that had come with being what he was. But she'd been wrong. He'd never seemed to change much at all, and even now she wasn't sure that the stubborn inu hanyou had ever actually cared about her and seen her as a friend.

Shuichi just nodded in response.

"So… what exactly is wrong?"

"Yuki… he's gone more than ever. When he's home and actually lets me stay too he locks himself in the study or his room. It's been over a year and he still has yet to call me by my name instead of brat, kid, idiot, or some other insult. He knows by now that I'm a decent cook but refuses to let me do more than use the microwave or toaster oven. He yells at me for making a mess even though he knows I always pick it up on my own. I still have no way of knowing if he's actually being loyal to me or if he either never gave up sleeping with random women or started again, which lead to be being kicked out this time. Worst of all, though, Kagome… I have no way of knowing or asking if he even cares about me, let alone loves me." Shuichi had never mentioned or talked about any of his problems or concerns with Yuki besides crying or whining over how mean Yuki is or worrying over the fact that they're both guys once or twice.

"According to Hiro, he also insults your lyrics even though he must know that in spite of how idiotic he thinks you are, you know more and are smarter when it comes to real relationships than he does."

"It's true that he always insults my lyrics… but what do you mean?" Shuichi asked.

"I mean, that from what I tend to hear Eiri Yuki, immensely popular romance novelist, may be able to charm or seduce women, and his books may be surprisingly poplar and rated surprisingly well, but I've heard enough about him from people who've actually met him to know that he's more than likely a cold hearted jerk with a cold family or rough child hood and quite possibly a tragic or traumatic experience who might think that he but doesn't actually know anything about real relationships in general, let alone romance and actual love."

"…You're right. I've glanced through novels of his, and I think the only reason Maiko reads let alone likes his books is because she likes or is attracted to him." Shuichi mentioned.

"Or she just has weird or bad taste." Kagome said half-jokingly.

They both knew that it was highly likely even though to those who didn't know her personally as a friend or family member might be surprised by it. After all, Bad Luck's music had always been pretty good and popular among those that heard it even back before Shuichi started coming up with their own songs, but Maiko, when you could talk into listening, had always claimed to not like it and the CDs Shuichi always gave her and their parents for free would have started to collect dust by now if their father hadn't either liked their music or simply insisted on listening to it from time to time because Shuichi is family.

Kagome had never known what to make of Maiko or her and Shuichi's mother. They both seemed to care at least a little but neither had ever listened to or truly paid attention to Shuichi. Kind of like how Kagome had held a grudge against the long-dead Hiten of the Thunder Brothers ever since finding out that he had a younger sister that he'd been neglecting since before killing Shippo's father in order to collect jewel shards. After all, the most important lesson she'd ever learned was something her father was always telling her when he was alive: nothing whatsoever is more important than the people you care about, and you should stick by your friends and family no matter what.

Kagome sighed. She really hoped that Shuichi reacted okay to her idea. "Shuichi… you can't go on like this."

Shuichi, who had started looking into his lap at some point, looked back up at her. She rarely used his whole name. "…Kagome?"

"You need to rethink this relationship with Eiri Yuki, Shuichi. It's bad for your health, your dream, and you're making everyone who cares about you worry. Hiro says that even K-san and Fujisaki-san are beginning to get concerned, and Tohma-kun has been worried about what your mental and emotional state will end up like should you stay with Yuki-san for a while now."

"Seguchi-san?"

"I've been acquainted with him since Jr. High… we've been friends for a while now." Kagome explained.

"Oh." Shuichi wasn't very surprised. He thought about what she said…

"Do you even love him anymore?" Kagome asked. After all, this wasn't anything like how Hiro described the sad routine in his e-mails… if he was admitting all of this and no longer defending Yuki things must be bad.

"…No, I don't. I didn't want to admit it because then I would be admitting that everything was going wrong, but Yuki has been so cold and such a jerk and our relationship has been so rocky that I fell out of love with him."

"Then… you need to end it.

"Kagome, you're right…" Shuichi started, "But… what should I do?"

"Well, breaking up with Yuki and moving out is a start."

"Where should I go though? Moving back in with my parents and sister is out of the question, and I could never impose on Hiro…" 'But I don't want to be alone, either.'

"Well, that's a stupid question. You'll move in with me, of course. My apartment's a bit big for one person anyway."

He looked up at Kagome in surprise. But before he could protest, she placed her finger over his mouth and the look in her eyes made anything he'd planned to say die on his lips.

"Please, Shu-chan? For me? You're not a burden or a bother no matter what Yuki-san says and… You're the little brother I never had. (this was true enough, Shuichi mused, Souta may be her brother by blood and they were close but their relationship had diluted over the years since her trip down the well to more like cousins, & before the well they'd barely been as close as an average brother and sister.) You're family, and my friend. I care about you, and I need to make sure that you don't go through something like this ever again. Yuki-san obviously went to fast too soon."

Shuichi smiled. Things were finally looking up. Just maybe without his rocky relationship with Yuki he'd be stable enough not affect his music and job anymore.

"When do I move in?" he asked.

"Tomorrow. I'm going with you to pick up your things and to be there as moral support when you break up with Yuki. For now, though, let's call Hiro. We'll have him bring over some spare clothes of yours and we can order pizza and have a sleepover."

"At your apartment?"

"No… here. Grandpa's out of town for a week and Okaa-san went with Souta as a chaperone for a fieldtrip that's going to have them be gone for the weekend."

"Ah. Well… Let's go, Kagome! This is gonna be a blast! We haven't done this since me and Hiro were in high school!" (AN: the incorrect grammar was on purpose for those who are picky.)

With that, Kagome let herself be led into the house by Shuichi. Yes, things were definitely looking up.

Owari

Next time on A Shift in Gravity: Hiro, Kagome, and Shuichi have their sleepover, then have their confrontation with Yuki. Then Monday comes and at work everyone notices a jump in Shuichi's mood. Naturally, this leads to the break up being revealed… and Shuichi revealing Kagome's secret. Plus, Tohma has a deal for Kagome. What is it, and how does it change things? And why does something seem a bit different about Hiro where Shuichi is concerned even though things are the same as ever between them?