Shuichi opened the glass door of Tohma's office, tilting his head
curiously as he spotted Tohma speaking to someone he didn't recognize.
"Ah, Shindo-kun. Glad you could make it!" Tohma said with a grin. Shuichi tilted his head a bit more, raising an eyebrow. "This is Isa Nekoi. He will be the new co-producer of Bad Luck." Shuichi's jaw dropped at Tohma's statement, completely taken aback. The man whose back had been facing him since his entrance began to turn around. Shuichi's eyes grew wide at the sight of Isa. His honey colored hair reflected against the sunlight pouring in from Tohma's windows. A smile spread across his face, Isa's light emerald eyes shining at the sight of Shuichi. He stood, embracing Shuichi immediately.
"Shuichi! Nice to meet you! I'm Isa! I hope to become good friends with you as well as the rest of Bad Luck!" Shuichi smiled weakly completely and totally confused. Isa grinned wider and hugged him once more before brushing a golden lock from his eyes and walking out of the room.
"Tohma-san.I.." Shuichi stuttered, sitting down in the chair formerly occupied by Isa.
"No, Shuichi. I know what you're feeling. Your current producer, I have decided, now that Bad Luck is becoming unspeakably popular.will need help. He is not being replaced, you need not worry." Tohma said with a smile, looking down at the stack of papers that lay before him on his desk. Shuichi exhaled, a bit of relief gracing his mind. It was true, he thought. Over the past year Bad Luck had soared in popularity, becoming what Nittle Grasper once was long ago. When Tohma said nothing more, Shuichi stood and opened the door to leave. "Shindo-kun." Tohma said, and Shuichi turned around. "Isa has experience, he knows what he's doing. Nothing will change. You have my word." Shuichi grinned at his manager and walked out.
*** Isa blew his cigarette smoke into the air, watching the cars pass by. He leaned against the railing, looking over the city from NG Studio's roof. He didn't take the time to turn around as the door opened, knowing at the exact moment who it was. "Itsuo.I was wondering when you'd come and see me." Isa said, tipping the ashes into the air with the quick movement of his wrist. The raven haired man showed no change in appearance, walking towards the railing and leaning against it as Isa had.
"So.he pulled you in too, did he?" Itsuo said, looking blankly into the clouds, never peering once at Isa. Isa laughed a bit under his breath and nodded, sucking on the end of his cigarette before tossing it over the edge of the railing.
"I brought myself here. Life gets boring after a while, if you know what I mean." He said nonchalantly, lighting another cigarette.
Isa looked up at Itsuo when he said nothing and thought, 'Hasn't changed a bit.' Itsuo sneered at him slightly, but it was obvious enough he disapproved of Isa's continuous smoking. "What? Don't you smoke?"
"Only when deprived of the numerous alternatives." He said, looking back at the sky. Isa shrugged and again flipped the cigarrette into the air. He turned, facing Itsuo and looking him up and down. Itsuo looked at him and raised and eyebrow, turning to face him and doing the same.
"How have you been since....." Isa hesitated, looking his friend in the eye. Itsuo raised his eyebrow again and crossed his arms. "Alright, I assume? If you ever need anything, never hesitate..."
"I don't need anything you could give me." Itsuo said, looking Isa over again. The golden-haired man wore clothes that of his stature normally trembled at. Isa was dressed in a plain white tee with blue trim, and a long sleeved orange shirt underneath. His pants were a bit baggy for his size, the same shade of blue as his tee's sleeves. Itsuo smirked slightly and looked him in the eyes. "The question seems to be how have you been since the group fell apart? Seems you've had trouble finding employers up till this point. Tell me where did he pick you up?"
Isa grinned widely and tugged at Itsuo's shirt, "I could ask the same of you, old friend. I am quite stable, thanks. I'm aware you are as well..... so it seems we both remained comfortable regardless." Isa smiled wider and looked Itsuo over. Black sleeveless shirt, with pants to match. The raven-haired man seemed fond of his natural color. Itsuo narrowed his eyes at Isa's comment and took a step foward.
"Regardless, it seems you've returned just the way you departed."
"You too, Itsuo. Nice seeing you again. It is a shame you haven't come to visit me in all this time, I enjoy your company very much. Such is rare in these times." Isa stopped smiling and shoved his hands in his pockets, frowning and staring at the ground. Itsuo remained silent, continuing to look at Isa for a moment before walking towards the door and down the stairs. Isa never looked up, instead he walked back to the railing and rested his elbows on it, lying his head in his hands. He remained that way for a few minutes before inhaling deeply and taking out another cigarrette.
***
Sakano ran his fingers through his hair and leaned against the wall next to Tohma's office. "He thinks me uncapable of all this 'popularity.' After all I've been through with Bad Luck. Damn him. Oi! Ryuichi!" he yelled, spotting the singer walking down the stairs. He ran towards him, but when seeing the expression on his face he stopped. "Maybe some other time." Ryuichi looked up at Sakano and smiled a bit, but suddenly his expression changed completely, forming into a wide grin. This scared Sakano even more and he waved his hand in front of Ryuichi's face. "Ryuichi...... Ryuichi?" Ryuichi continued smiling and nudged Sakano out of his path, rushing towards the other end of the hall.
"Itsuo!"
Itsuo stopped walking and turned to spot Ryuichi. He smiled slightly, inside praying that Ryuichi wouldn't knock him down while running towards him. 'Going to be a long night.' he said silently to himself, and braced himself to be glomped.
***
"Where is it! Damnit!" Shuichi growled, throwing open the door of the recording room. He fumbled through filing cabinet drawers, and whipped around to look through the papers on the desk when he gasped. A basket of strawberry pocky lie on his desk, a pink bow tied to the handle. He squealed in happiness, his eyes widening as he read the card.
"Hiro-san told me this was your favorite flavor, is it the right kind? I hope to become very good friends. See you in the sound room. Sincerely, Isa Nekoi, your new co-producer."
Shuichi smiled warmly and dropped the card, looking up in happiness. "I've never needed a pick me up this badly in my life..." He said aloud, plopping in the chair and ripping open one of the many boxes of pocky. He sighed and stuck a stick in his mouth, beginning to rummage through papers again. He didn't looked up as Hiro entered.
"Ah, Shuichi! What have you lost now?" Hiro said with a warm smile, leaning his arms against the desk and observing his friend's frantic state. Shuichi looked up at the sound of Hiro's voice and frowned, chopping the remains of the pocky stick into his mouth.
"I stayed up all night last night working on the new song, finished it. Something I don't usually do. Now I can't find the god damned disk!" Shuichi yelled, throwing a stack of papers onto the floor. Hiro chuckled slightly and patted Shuichi on the back.
"Don't worry! You'll find it! We have lots of time, which is why I came to talk to you. I'm going to Kyoto. We have two months before the deadline and there's no sense in me staying here when I want to see her so badly."
Shuichi gaped, "When are you leaving?"
"Tonight."
Shuichi's eyes widened and he pushed the chair back from the desk, glaring at Hiro slightly before storming out of the room. He gritted his teeth as he entered the parking lot, and began to run towards his car. "Maybe it's at home. Maybe Yuki's at home. Yuki please be at home.." he said to himself, throwing open the car door and wiping his eyes as he started it up. His whole world seemed to be falling apart. Now he found out Hiro was leaving. For the last few days Yuki hadn't said a word to him. That was when he was home. This entire week he hadn't touched Shuichi, and when Shuichi tried to do any such thing to him Yuki yelled at him and left without saying anything else. Shuichi had never cried so much in his life. At least before Yuki would tell him what he had done, or at least insult him. Anything would have ranked higher than silence. He hadn't even had the chance to tell the sole person in the world that would understand. "Damn it Hiro!" he thought, flooring it on the last street. He screeched to a halt in the driveway, opening the mirror to check and make sure he was presentable and not to obviously upset. When satisfied he opened the car door and walked slowly towards Yuki's building.
"Yuki! Yuki I'm home! I tried to get home as fast-" Shuichi stopped when he saw the suitcase on their bed. The water was running in the bathroom but he was frozen. Yuki stepped out, a towel wrapped loosely around his waist. Shuichi looked up at him desperately, begging him silently to say something. He didn't care what, he wanted him to yell at him, scream at him.. anything. The silence made his head throb, it hurt so badly he could no longer take it. Yuki was buttoning his shirt when Shuichi grabbed his shoulders and turned him around. The look in Yuki's eyes made him release him. There was no anger, no pain.. they were feeling less pits, cold and lifeless. "Yuki?" Yuki looked away from Shuichi to the suitcase on the bed. He pushed Shuichi out of the way, and grabbed it, rushing from the room. Again Shuichi was frozen, unable to speak. He inhaled sharply and caught it as Yuki swept past. He had been drinking. Then it came back to him, the only other time he had seen those eyes.. the eyes that frightened him further than that of rage, or yelling. He had been drinking, and Yuki never drank. If he did he had it under control. Something was wrong. He heard the keys being wrenched from the hook on the wall and he ran out of the room. Again he grasped Yuki's shoulders and turned him around. "Face me! Face me and tell me why! Why God damn it!" Shuichi screamed in Yuki's face, tears falling from his eyes. He managed to shove Yuki against the door, forcing his own lips onto his. He tasted the thick flavor of alcohol in Yuki's mouth and broke away. "What do you want from me? Can't you see that I love you? What is it you're too frightened to let go? So frightened, so weak that you cover it like this!" And that was when he saw Yuki's eyes flare, and a bit of his rage rip through the drunkenness. That was all he saw before taking a blow to the head. Shuichi staggered a few steps and grimaced, never once closing his eyes. He stood there motionless once more and brought his hand to his temple, taking it away and staring down at the fingertips that now gleamed with his own blood. Yuki stood perfectly still, his eyes holding onto the anger for two more seconds before they widened. He looked down at his hand, his red knuckles and the fact that his skin stung from the after effect of connecting it with Shuichi's skull. "Shuichi.." he stammered, and felt for the door knob. He swung it open and hurriedly walked out. Shuichi fell to his knees and held his head in his arms as he heard Yuki's car fly down the street. His sleeve wet with both blood and tears, he got up and walked back to the bathroom.
"Ah, Shindo-kun. Glad you could make it!" Tohma said with a grin. Shuichi tilted his head a bit more, raising an eyebrow. "This is Isa Nekoi. He will be the new co-producer of Bad Luck." Shuichi's jaw dropped at Tohma's statement, completely taken aback. The man whose back had been facing him since his entrance began to turn around. Shuichi's eyes grew wide at the sight of Isa. His honey colored hair reflected against the sunlight pouring in from Tohma's windows. A smile spread across his face, Isa's light emerald eyes shining at the sight of Shuichi. He stood, embracing Shuichi immediately.
"Shuichi! Nice to meet you! I'm Isa! I hope to become good friends with you as well as the rest of Bad Luck!" Shuichi smiled weakly completely and totally confused. Isa grinned wider and hugged him once more before brushing a golden lock from his eyes and walking out of the room.
"Tohma-san.I.." Shuichi stuttered, sitting down in the chair formerly occupied by Isa.
"No, Shuichi. I know what you're feeling. Your current producer, I have decided, now that Bad Luck is becoming unspeakably popular.will need help. He is not being replaced, you need not worry." Tohma said with a smile, looking down at the stack of papers that lay before him on his desk. Shuichi exhaled, a bit of relief gracing his mind. It was true, he thought. Over the past year Bad Luck had soared in popularity, becoming what Nittle Grasper once was long ago. When Tohma said nothing more, Shuichi stood and opened the door to leave. "Shindo-kun." Tohma said, and Shuichi turned around. "Isa has experience, he knows what he's doing. Nothing will change. You have my word." Shuichi grinned at his manager and walked out.
*** Isa blew his cigarette smoke into the air, watching the cars pass by. He leaned against the railing, looking over the city from NG Studio's roof. He didn't take the time to turn around as the door opened, knowing at the exact moment who it was. "Itsuo.I was wondering when you'd come and see me." Isa said, tipping the ashes into the air with the quick movement of his wrist. The raven haired man showed no change in appearance, walking towards the railing and leaning against it as Isa had.
"So.he pulled you in too, did he?" Itsuo said, looking blankly into the clouds, never peering once at Isa. Isa laughed a bit under his breath and nodded, sucking on the end of his cigarette before tossing it over the edge of the railing.
"I brought myself here. Life gets boring after a while, if you know what I mean." He said nonchalantly, lighting another cigarette.
Isa looked up at Itsuo when he said nothing and thought, 'Hasn't changed a bit.' Itsuo sneered at him slightly, but it was obvious enough he disapproved of Isa's continuous smoking. "What? Don't you smoke?"
"Only when deprived of the numerous alternatives." He said, looking back at the sky. Isa shrugged and again flipped the cigarrette into the air. He turned, facing Itsuo and looking him up and down. Itsuo looked at him and raised and eyebrow, turning to face him and doing the same.
"How have you been since....." Isa hesitated, looking his friend in the eye. Itsuo raised his eyebrow again and crossed his arms. "Alright, I assume? If you ever need anything, never hesitate..."
"I don't need anything you could give me." Itsuo said, looking Isa over again. The golden-haired man wore clothes that of his stature normally trembled at. Isa was dressed in a plain white tee with blue trim, and a long sleeved orange shirt underneath. His pants were a bit baggy for his size, the same shade of blue as his tee's sleeves. Itsuo smirked slightly and looked him in the eyes. "The question seems to be how have you been since the group fell apart? Seems you've had trouble finding employers up till this point. Tell me where did he pick you up?"
Isa grinned widely and tugged at Itsuo's shirt, "I could ask the same of you, old friend. I am quite stable, thanks. I'm aware you are as well..... so it seems we both remained comfortable regardless." Isa smiled wider and looked Itsuo over. Black sleeveless shirt, with pants to match. The raven-haired man seemed fond of his natural color. Itsuo narrowed his eyes at Isa's comment and took a step foward.
"Regardless, it seems you've returned just the way you departed."
"You too, Itsuo. Nice seeing you again. It is a shame you haven't come to visit me in all this time, I enjoy your company very much. Such is rare in these times." Isa stopped smiling and shoved his hands in his pockets, frowning and staring at the ground. Itsuo remained silent, continuing to look at Isa for a moment before walking towards the door and down the stairs. Isa never looked up, instead he walked back to the railing and rested his elbows on it, lying his head in his hands. He remained that way for a few minutes before inhaling deeply and taking out another cigarrette.
***
Sakano ran his fingers through his hair and leaned against the wall next to Tohma's office. "He thinks me uncapable of all this 'popularity.' After all I've been through with Bad Luck. Damn him. Oi! Ryuichi!" he yelled, spotting the singer walking down the stairs. He ran towards him, but when seeing the expression on his face he stopped. "Maybe some other time." Ryuichi looked up at Sakano and smiled a bit, but suddenly his expression changed completely, forming into a wide grin. This scared Sakano even more and he waved his hand in front of Ryuichi's face. "Ryuichi...... Ryuichi?" Ryuichi continued smiling and nudged Sakano out of his path, rushing towards the other end of the hall.
"Itsuo!"
Itsuo stopped walking and turned to spot Ryuichi. He smiled slightly, inside praying that Ryuichi wouldn't knock him down while running towards him. 'Going to be a long night.' he said silently to himself, and braced himself to be glomped.
***
"Where is it! Damnit!" Shuichi growled, throwing open the door of the recording room. He fumbled through filing cabinet drawers, and whipped around to look through the papers on the desk when he gasped. A basket of strawberry pocky lie on his desk, a pink bow tied to the handle. He squealed in happiness, his eyes widening as he read the card.
"Hiro-san told me this was your favorite flavor, is it the right kind? I hope to become very good friends. See you in the sound room. Sincerely, Isa Nekoi, your new co-producer."
Shuichi smiled warmly and dropped the card, looking up in happiness. "I've never needed a pick me up this badly in my life..." He said aloud, plopping in the chair and ripping open one of the many boxes of pocky. He sighed and stuck a stick in his mouth, beginning to rummage through papers again. He didn't looked up as Hiro entered.
"Ah, Shuichi! What have you lost now?" Hiro said with a warm smile, leaning his arms against the desk and observing his friend's frantic state. Shuichi looked up at the sound of Hiro's voice and frowned, chopping the remains of the pocky stick into his mouth.
"I stayed up all night last night working on the new song, finished it. Something I don't usually do. Now I can't find the god damned disk!" Shuichi yelled, throwing a stack of papers onto the floor. Hiro chuckled slightly and patted Shuichi on the back.
"Don't worry! You'll find it! We have lots of time, which is why I came to talk to you. I'm going to Kyoto. We have two months before the deadline and there's no sense in me staying here when I want to see her so badly."
Shuichi gaped, "When are you leaving?"
"Tonight."
Shuichi's eyes widened and he pushed the chair back from the desk, glaring at Hiro slightly before storming out of the room. He gritted his teeth as he entered the parking lot, and began to run towards his car. "Maybe it's at home. Maybe Yuki's at home. Yuki please be at home.." he said to himself, throwing open the car door and wiping his eyes as he started it up. His whole world seemed to be falling apart. Now he found out Hiro was leaving. For the last few days Yuki hadn't said a word to him. That was when he was home. This entire week he hadn't touched Shuichi, and when Shuichi tried to do any such thing to him Yuki yelled at him and left without saying anything else. Shuichi had never cried so much in his life. At least before Yuki would tell him what he had done, or at least insult him. Anything would have ranked higher than silence. He hadn't even had the chance to tell the sole person in the world that would understand. "Damn it Hiro!" he thought, flooring it on the last street. He screeched to a halt in the driveway, opening the mirror to check and make sure he was presentable and not to obviously upset. When satisfied he opened the car door and walked slowly towards Yuki's building.
"Yuki! Yuki I'm home! I tried to get home as fast-" Shuichi stopped when he saw the suitcase on their bed. The water was running in the bathroom but he was frozen. Yuki stepped out, a towel wrapped loosely around his waist. Shuichi looked up at him desperately, begging him silently to say something. He didn't care what, he wanted him to yell at him, scream at him.. anything. The silence made his head throb, it hurt so badly he could no longer take it. Yuki was buttoning his shirt when Shuichi grabbed his shoulders and turned him around. The look in Yuki's eyes made him release him. There was no anger, no pain.. they were feeling less pits, cold and lifeless. "Yuki?" Yuki looked away from Shuichi to the suitcase on the bed. He pushed Shuichi out of the way, and grabbed it, rushing from the room. Again Shuichi was frozen, unable to speak. He inhaled sharply and caught it as Yuki swept past. He had been drinking. Then it came back to him, the only other time he had seen those eyes.. the eyes that frightened him further than that of rage, or yelling. He had been drinking, and Yuki never drank. If he did he had it under control. Something was wrong. He heard the keys being wrenched from the hook on the wall and he ran out of the room. Again he grasped Yuki's shoulders and turned him around. "Face me! Face me and tell me why! Why God damn it!" Shuichi screamed in Yuki's face, tears falling from his eyes. He managed to shove Yuki against the door, forcing his own lips onto his. He tasted the thick flavor of alcohol in Yuki's mouth and broke away. "What do you want from me? Can't you see that I love you? What is it you're too frightened to let go? So frightened, so weak that you cover it like this!" And that was when he saw Yuki's eyes flare, and a bit of his rage rip through the drunkenness. That was all he saw before taking a blow to the head. Shuichi staggered a few steps and grimaced, never once closing his eyes. He stood there motionless once more and brought his hand to his temple, taking it away and staring down at the fingertips that now gleamed with his own blood. Yuki stood perfectly still, his eyes holding onto the anger for two more seconds before they widened. He looked down at his hand, his red knuckles and the fact that his skin stung from the after effect of connecting it with Shuichi's skull. "Shuichi.." he stammered, and felt for the door knob. He swung it open and hurriedly walked out. Shuichi fell to his knees and held his head in his arms as he heard Yuki's car fly down the street. His sleeve wet with both blood and tears, he got up and walked back to the bathroom.