Rating/Warnings: K+; no warnings
Disclaimer: Gravitation is the creation of Maki Murakami and the property of her and her publishers, who profit from them, not me. This is a work of fanfiction. No copyright or other infringement is intended.
Summary: Kumagoro greets Tohma in the studio. But why has Ryuichi left him behind?
Written for teh_kusogaki for a writing meme. Not beta reviewed; all mistakes are mine.
Kumagoro's Comfort
The studio Nittle Grasper uses is empty now. Everyone has gone home except for Tohma. NG is Tohma and Tohma is NG, and much to Mika's displeasure, he practically lives here.
Tohma moves through the studio, checking on the equipment and playing a few bars on his synthesizer. Just for the heck of it, he tries out Noriko's synth too. The feel of the keys and the setup is different from his, and it feels strange, yet the sound emanating from it is familiar.
When he looks up, he sees something pink on top of an amplifier in the corner. It couldn't be...but what else could it be? Who else could it be?
He walks toward it and sees Ryuichi's old friend. The friend he's had and known longer than he's known Tohma, longer than he's known Noriko, even.
Tohma scratches his head, puzzled. What would possess Ryu to leave Kumagoro behind, especially here? He knows his friend well enough to know it isn't an accident. Ryuichi may act spaced out when he's not performing, and may in fact be spaced out when he's not performing – he's had an on and off substance abuse problem that Tohma's had to deal and help him with – but he knows where Kumagoro is at all times. He doesn't happen to forget and leave him somewhere.
Tohma picks up the frayed, well-loved pink bunny, most of its plush fur worn away, and stares at it.
Kumagoro smiles and stares back.
Tohma sits down at his keyboard and plays a song for Kumagoro. Ryu would like that, if he were here. Ryu has always insisted, with complete sincerity, that Kumagoro is alive and speaks to him. Tohma smiles fondly, thinking of his friend and bandmate's delusion.
The clock on the wall of the control room makes a noise as it changes over from 11:59 p.m. to midnight. Tohma checks his watch. When he sees the date, he realizes that in an hour or so, it will be ten years to the day, hour, and minute since he found Eiri in that man's apartment, sobbing uncontrollably and scared out of his mind.
He crushes Kumagoro to his chest, tears falling freely on the worn fur. Now he knows exactly why Ryuichi left Kumagoro behind.