Title: Regression

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I OWN EVERYTHING IN THIS FIC… (…that's not in Murakami Maki's Gravitation…WAH!)

Summary: AU When Yuki's sessions with his psychiatrist increase, he hates it. Can a certain pink haired receptionist change his mind?

'Next Wednesday at 10' became 'today in half an hour' pretty soon once again for Yuki. Time was definitely against Eiri. His report had been one of the scariest things he'd ever read – in each section 'regression', 'increased smoking and drinking habits' and 'stressed' were repeated at least three times.

"Uesugi-san feels that he is smoking and drinking a lot more, it is possible that he is regressing instead of progressing. He also feels 'stressed' about his new sessions and is under a lot of stress at work – having deadlines to meet. I, Takahashi Sachiko, believe that this new course will reduce his stressdrinking and smoking, and help him progress instead of regress."

Yuki admired Sachiko-sensei's style. She was irritating, drove him to suicidal thoughts and seemed to be completely useless as a psychiatrist but somehow her report had managed to help him drink and smoke a little less throughout the past week. This admiration, however, did not make him feel any happier about going back to the hospital this week. In fact – surprise, surprise - he was actually quite dreading today's session. They were going to be talking about his new prescription. His medication was the one thing he hated more than the actual sessions – it was impossible to live without once taken, you had awkward moments with friends if they were found around the house and the initial side effects are awful if you were unfortunate enough to get them.

"The quicker you leave, the quicker you'll be able to go home," Sachiko-sensei's voice said encouragingly in Yuki's head. He shuddered. Now he was schizophrenic.

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Shuichi was very excited on Yuki's counselling day. All week, he and Hiro had been planning his revenge plan. Hiro's suggestions had been completely over the top (he had been drunk at the time) and Shuichi had only listened to them for a laugh. He in the end, without any sensible ideas from his cleverer friend, he had fallen back on ignoring the writer – it worked on children didn't it? His logic was that if he ignored Yuki, Yuki would get pissed off and apologise so that Shuichi would talk to him. Shuichi was not going to let Yuki beat him. His threats the week before had annoyed Shuichi no end. It wasn't fair for Yuki to use force if he was bigger and stronger.

That morning Shuichi had woken up early to practice his professional 'I'm ignoring you' face. He had put on his nurse's uniform and had stared at himself in the mirror trying out different dirty looks and Yuki's own cold stare on his reflection. He could smell victory in the air.

There was a funny vibe around the hospital. Yuki had felt it as soon as he had stepped out of his car. He was getting the feeling that he always got when his day was going to turn out like shit. As his foot hit the concrete of the car park his bad luck radar picked up on something and his negativity moved to an all time lowest level. Not for the first time in his life, Yuki questioned his existence.

He took his usual route to the psychiatric ward, trying to shake off the feeling that the day would turn out badly. He would definitely not look very sane if his bad luck radar was on red alert. The feeling got worse as the elevator took him up to the psychiatric ward and they reached a peak at the reception. Ah, he thought, Shindou Shuichi.

"Uesugi Eiri," Yuki told Shuichi as he had the week before, and then took a seat. He watched Shuichi tick off his name and noticed that his Pocky holder was empty. What a shame. Unfortunately, he still hadn't ditched his uniform.

A huge silence descended upon Yuki and Shuichi. All noises seemed to cease leaving a quiet that could rival the quiet of the bottom of the ocean. Shuichi was having a very hard time ignoring Yuki. He did not have the upper hand he had hoped for. Yuki was completely unconcerned that Shuichi hadn't said a word to him! He tried his best to keep reminding himself that it had only been a minute and that Yuki would need time to crack.

A minute passed slowly. Shuichi coughed loudly. Yuki glanced at him briefly and then returned to his silent waiting. Shuichi glared at him, but of course, the glare went unnoticed. Another long minute passed and Shuichi's impatience and anger levels continued rising rapidly. A tension seemed to be building in the air and Shuichi was drowning in it, unable to breathe. It wouldn't be long until Shuichi cracked. He'd lost the upper hand already.

"Apologise Yuki-san." Shuichi ordered bluntly.

Yuki turned slowly to look at Shuichi. "I'm sorry…" Yuki taunted Shuichi, monotonous even in jest. "I don't follow. Apologise for what?"

"For being rude to me last week, for threatening me and for telling me that I suck at my job!" Shuichi exclaimed furiously. "Don't pretend you don't remember."

"Ah, well I meet and insult a lot of people - could you remind me who you are?"

"I'm Shuichi Shindou! You came here last week and told me that you would hurt me if I didn't give you the report – and I only took it to make you apologise to me for being so rude!"

"Shindou-kun, what are you shouting about in front of Uesugi-san?" Sachiko-sensei asked, having come into the waiting room to collect Yuki and being met with the raving of the cross-dressing receptionist.

"Sorry," Shuichi said sheepishly His cheeks warmed with embarrassment and he bowed his head low to hide it. He would not show weakness! "Sorry Uesugi-san." He spat out in the most civil tone he could muster in front of Sachiko-sensei.

Sachiko-sensei led Yuki out of the room and into her room. She smiled cheerfully at him and pointed at the uncomfortable chair that he would have to endure for the next hour without fidgeting. Fidgeting suggested cravings, which he was not having, as he had insisted to Sachiko-sensei the week before.

"How are you this week Uesugi-san?" Sachiko asked, once they were both seated. She pulled out a clipboard and a pen and smiled expectantly at him.

"I'm fine," Yuki replied mechanically. That was his answer every week.

"Has anything happened this week that you feel you need to discuss with me?"

"Nothing." Yuki told her – always the same.

"And how is your alcohol consumption? Your smoking? Has that changed at all?"

"I'm cutting down," Yuki told her, having smoked just the tiniest bit less.

Sachiko scribbled this down and then smiled brightly at him. "That's good." Yuki wondered if she knew that he was lying; if she did, then she never showed it. "Now, I would like you to tell me a bit more about your family and friends. From what you told me at the assessment session last week, you don't like going out much anymore and," she consulted a sheet on her clipboard, "you don't have a very good relationship with your family. Firstly, could you tell me about your family? Why is it that you don't see them very often?"

Yuki had answered these questions countless times. He wasn't a psychiatrist and hadn't studied psychology, but surely repeating the same information over and over was not going to help him. He was pretty sure he was wasting his money seeing his psychiatrist, but when he had suggested stopping before she had insisted that he had made enormous progress and to stop would set him back – would make him 'regress' ironically enough.

"I don't have a good relationship with my parents. My mother died when I was young and my father is too preoccupied with his shrine. He had wanted me to follow in his footsteps and become a monk but I refused. He doesn't approve of how I live or my profession, and I'm not really looking for his approval, so I don't make the effort to see him very often. I get along ok with my sister Mika, I suppose, but she lives to irritate me. I have a younger brother who sponges off me whenever he comes to visit, and a brother-in-law who cannot leave me alone." He recited all of this boredly, the words etched into his brain permanently. Sachiko seemed to be hearing this all for the first time, nodding enthusiastically and taking down notes. He really did have to find himself another psychiatrist sometime, after enduring almost two years with this relentlessly happy woman.

"And how was your relationship with your family before the incident with Kitazawa Yuki?" Sachiko asked, her smile soft as she mentioned his past.

"My father ignored me a lot, and I wasn't at home a lot of the time. I lived in America with my brother-in-law, Tohma, for a while too and that was fine. I got along fine with Mika and Tatsuha though, considering that I didn't see them very often." This, too, was said like he was reading it off a piece of paper.

"When was the last time you saw your father, Uesugi-san?"

He thought back. It must have been…New Year? Yes, that's right, Tatsuha had dragged him to their house in Kyoto and had kept him prisoner in one of the bedrooms. It was now May. "I saw them a few months ago," Yuki lied again, hoping she wouldn't press it.

"Could you be a bit more precise Uesugi-san? March? February?"

Dammit, he cursed silently. "December 31st," Yuki told her, staring out of the window as he said it.

Sachiko made no reaction to his answer; Yuki supposed it was part of her job not to. "Ok, could you tell me why you haven't seen him?"

Yuki shrugged. "No reason."

"Uh huh," Sachiko nodded, noting down his answer. "And… how about your brother or sister? Or your brother-in-law? You're quite close to him, right?"

"Not exactly, but I did see Mika and Tohma last month, and Tatsuha the month before."

These questions went on for ages, sometimes looping back on themselves, his answers often summarised. She asked the same questions about friends and, ironically, about his attitude towards others. In fact, Sachiko wasn't far off from asking "Why do you react the way you do when Shuichi Shindou talks to you?" By the end of the session Eiri was sick and tired of being made to look guilty.

Once Sachiko-sensei had bid him her goodbyes to him and closed her office door (wasn't it common courtesy for her to take him back to the waiting room at least?), inspiration hit him. There was a vending machine further along the corridor that sold Pocky and other crappy snacks – he could buy the receptionist Pocky to refill the pencil holder, and it might get the brat off his case. He quickly bought the Pocky (patients weren't supposed to use the staff vending machine – or even supposed to be in the corridor alone) and made his way back to the reception, thinking for the second time that day that the sessions may have had an effect on him.

Seeing Shuichi glowering at him immediately made him wish he hadn't bought the kid anything.

"Brat." He acknowledged Shuichi. He let Shuichi's frown deepen before throwing the box of Pocky at him. Shuichi caught it instinctively, but with a confused expression on his face. His expression softened immediately after briefly examining the box.

"Thank you…" he breathed his eyes wide in awe. Was it really such a big deal? Eiri wondered, half rolling his eyes. "Does this mean you're sorry? I'm so happy! My sister loved your autograph by the way, even though I was mad at you I gave it to her and I said all these horrible things. I did want to tell you earlier but I was really angry with you. But I'm sorry too; I guess I do suck a little at my job. Everybody here has told me to stop talking to the patients because it isn't professional. They said they'd fire me but Hiro's dad won't let them. He's pretty high up in this hospital, you know?" Shuichi finished proudly.

Eiri growled in frustration. How was it possible to be so annoying in so many different ways? Angry Shuichi was annoying because he shouted; Happy Shuichi was annoying because he wouldn't shut up. "Listen, kid, I'm not your friend. In fact, you should know that I don't like you at all, you piss me off. I only bought you that stuff to make you leave me alone. Now, please, leave me alone."

"Oh, I, err…" Shuichi was taken aback by Eiri's bluntness, so it took a second for the hurt to sink in. "I'm sorry," Shuichi offered, but realised that Eiri wasn't looking for an apology, but for Shuichi to leave him alone. Shuichi closed his mouth quickly as if to stop the words that constantly left his mouth. He lowered his head, his eyes downcast, trying to show Eiri that he would leave him alone. Eiri seemed satisfied with this, because when Shuichi had summoned up enough courage to look up, the waiting room was completely deserted.

Thank you for the wonderful reviews I got for chapter 1! I really didn't expect that many! Thank you!

Revised 15th January 2008- Thank you muchly wonderful beta blaqksilence!