I would like to thank those who reviewed the first chapter! Thank you, zerojouno, Rhainus, fan and KuraiKurou. Your amazing support means the world to me.

Disclaimer: The amazing Odagiri Hotaru-sensei owns Uraboku.

Chapter 2

Shusei froze, his insides churning and he felt sick and nauseous. His mother? What was his mother doing here? He had not contacted his family since he was sold into the Giou clan. He had not even seen his family after nearly eighteen years. And yet, outside the building stood a woman who claimed that she was his mother. 'How did she find me?' he thought, as he felt his legs rooted to the ground, unable to move.

Shusei's thoughts were interrupted when the voice called out once again. "Shusei… I-If you don't want me to come in, then can you at least come out?" the voice asked again. Shusei exhaled – the amount of shock still not diminished as Shusei tried to reply in an even voice. "A-Alright. I'll be out soon," he finally replied and he released the mic button. Shusei slumped onto the wall next to him and slid down onto the ground. He was still in shock, not believing that his mother was standing outside.

He was jolted out of his thoughts when he felt gentle fingers brushing across his cheek. He turned and was met with the concerned look on Hotsuma's face. "Shusei? Who was it? You okay?" he asked. Shusei stared back onto the ground and he hugged his knees closer, curling up slightly. "I-It was my mother," Shusei said in a ghostly whisper.

Hotsuma's eyes widen in shock as well, and he gripped onto Shusei's shoulders. "Your mother?" Shusei barely heard Hotsuma as it was obvious that Hotsuma was also shocked. Shusei nodded mechanically and he felt his lips trembling. Hotsuma covered the paler hands with his tanned ones and laced their fingers together.

"S-She wants to see me. S-She is waiting outside," answered Shusei, his voice choking a little. Hotsuma cupped the back of Shusei's head and leaned it against his own chest. He had never seen Shusei so close to breaking down before - not since they had been forcefully torn apart seven years ago. Shusei gulped in a few breaths and Hotsuma was relieved to find the brunet finally calming down.

"Do you want me to go with you?" asked Hotsuma, wanting to reassure the other. Shusei lightly shook his head before opening his eyes once again, this time wearing a look of frowned determination. "No… No, I'll be all right on my own. I'll have to face her eventually. She just took me by surprise. The last person I expect to be on my doorstep would be a family member."

Shusei then willed himself to stand up high as he wore the nearest pair of shoes and stepped out the door.

.

Shusei sighed as he took the elevator down to the entrance. He heart was beating wildly against his chest and he was honestly, feeling like a nervous wreck. He stepped out of the elevator when the doors opened and he glanced towards the glass door entrance. A woman in her late forties with the same shade of brown hair as his was standing just outside. She was wearing a white blouse and a navy blue, knee length skirt and her hair was pinned up neatly into a French knot. Shusei braced himself, taking a deep breath before walking towards the entrance. The doorman gave him a bow and greeted him, and Shusei smiled in return. The automatic sliding doors separated and Shusei stepped out.

The woman heard footsteps and glanced at the direction. Shusei felt his breath hitch as he stared at his mother who he had not met for many years. "Good evening, mother," he finally said, his politeness getting the better of him. The woman had aged a lot as compared to his memories.

The woman bit her lower lip hesitantly. "S-Shusei… you came…" she said, her voice tinted with slight happiness and relief. Shusei nodded slowly, feeling slightly tense at the awkward situation.

"H-How did you find me?" he asked, wanting to strangle whoever that gave away his address. His mother gave a tiny smile, apparently glad that her son was talking to her instead of ignoring her.

"I contacted your agency and told them it was for an emergency."

Shusei frowned a little. "Emergency?" he asked. His mother nodded and her gaze fell to the ground. Shusei cursed – he definitely will have a nice, little talk with Takarada about giving out private and confidential information. "What's wrong?" asked Shusei.

His mother took a deep breath before exhaling. "C-Can we go have some tea or something?" she asked uncertainly. Shusei merely nodded and they both headed to the nearest café. Luckily, the café wasn't filled with a lot of people and they both took a table at the far end, away from the crowd's eyes. Shusei was relieved that no one recognized him as a celebrity.

They both ordered green tea and were silent as they waited for their drink. When the hot drinks came, his mother took a sip from the cup before replacing it back onto the saucer. She paused for a moment, and Shusei was getting edgier by the minute.

He sighed; tenseness and awkwardness no longer there as another emotion flared up within his body – annoyance and frustration. His day was already a living nightmare as he was pressured to go on a world tour, and now his long lost family shows up?

"Mother, what is going on? Why are you suddenly contacting me now?" he said in a dangerously low voice. His mother glanced back at her son and her face grew a little paler. She took a deep breath, and the words that spilled out from her lips froze Shusei.

"S-Shusei… y-you have a brother," said the woman and her hands clenched tightly around the cup. Shusei blinked once, twice before sighing and leaning his head against his palm.

"A brother?" he asked again, feeling exhausted, his headache returning. What the-? He was expecting her to ask for money or something similar but she completely took him by surprise by mentioning about an unknown brother that suddenly came into existence. The woman merely nodded, and studied her son's expression. Shusei sighed yet again and he folded his hands on the table. "What about him?" he asked, his expression now emotionless and unreadable, but his head was throbbing.

"S-Shusuke, h-he just turned sixteen recently and…and he… he found out about you," the woman replied, her voice shaking a little.

Shusei wanted to scoff or laugh out loud. So this was the reason. "Let me guess, my so-called brother found out about me through my music, and he questioned you recently. Am I right?" he said, voice laced with fake amusement. God, his family was so predictable at times. They only thought about themselves and had used him by selling him off to the Giou clan.

His mother just whispered out, "Yea… something like that."

Shusei leaned back onto his seat, turning his gaze to stare at the outside of the window. "What's that got to do with me?" he said nonchalantly, although his heart was beating wildly against his chest.

His mother shifted a little. "Shusuke had always been a fan of your music when he first heard it. Your dad and I had tried to keep him away from your music when we heard it being released but Shusuke heard it from a music store. He was shocked when he saw your surname and he questioned your father and I. We tried to avoid the subject, but your brother was persistent until your father finally told him that you were actually part of our family."

Shusei wanted to roll his eyes, and he frowned at the last statement. His insides were boiling and he wanted to punch something. "Family?" his voice shook a little, laced with pure anger. "What family are you talking about? You threw me aside ever since you found out about my powers! You sold me away!" Shusei's voice rose, and a few tables were now glancing at them, murmuring.

"D-Don't you dare tell me about family when you were the one who abandoned me," he said icily. "I threw away my past when I entered the Giou clan. You have no idea how much I've suffered!" he nearly screamed out and he stood up and storm out of the café.

.

"W-Wait…" he heard his mother calling back as she caught up with him. He quickened his pace as he walked towards the direction of his penthouse. "S-Shusei… please wait," she called out again, this time much softly, almost pleadingly. Shusei felt his footsteps stop at the tone of her voice. His back was still facing her and he heard a rustling sound behind him.

The woman extracted something from her handbag. "I-I know I have no right to suddenly barge into your life, but… please… w-would you consider meeting up with your brother?" she pleaded. "H-He… Shusuke was furious when he found out that we kept this from him. H-He was really angry, and he has not talked to us since then. I-I've never seen him so angry before."

Shusei twisted his head over his shoulder and saw the woman holding out a piece of paper and a photo. He breathed out once before slowly taking the items, and his eyes scanned the photo. His heart raced when he saw the photo, and his emotions were going haywire.

It was obvious that the person in the photo was his brother. Shusuke had the same shade of hair and eyes as Shusei; only that Shusuke's hair was slightly longer, nearly touching his shoulders. His lips were curled into a grin and he was wearing his school uniform.

Shusei looked at the other piece of paper and saw a cell phone number. "I-Is this…?" he mumbled out as his voice died off, unable to continue the sentence.

"Yes… that is his cell phone number," his mother breathed out. "T-Thank you, Shusei," she finally said. Shusei narrowed his eyes as he let his mask fall back into place again. "Don't thank me yet. I'm not making any promises," he said coldly. The woman shook her head and finally let out a tiny smile. "I-I know… but still, thank you for meeting up with me today."

Shusei blinked in surprise. Since when had his mother ever thanked him? He glanced down once again at the photo. "Does… does he know about my powers and of the Giou clan?" Shusei whispered slowly. His mother closed her eyes and shook her head. "We only told him that we sent you away. We didn't give him the details," she finally said.

Shusei merely nodded, before turning back and continued walking, not once turning back.

I may introduce a few OCs here and there, since this story is about them being in their twenties. Don't worry! It won't be too many. I promise! I myself am not too fond of OCs as well, being a reader.

But I have completely no clue whether the manga has in fact, stated anything about Shusei's past or family (since there are no english translations T.T) so I'm just going to make them up.

Anyway, I know I am ranting so please review! Reviews are every writer's motivation. And more motivation equals to faster updates. =P

Kimihearts.