Outside, it was a day of fair weather - the scorching temperatures of the previous day were not to be found; the sun glowed brilliantly in the sky, but a gentle breeze accompanied it, making a favorable environment for just about every outdoor activity. In the city park, people played games, ate lunch, or maybe just sat out on the soft, dry lawn and admired teh weather. Everyone, that is, save for one individual.
Shuichi sat alone on a bench in a secluded corner of the park; he sat with his knees up to his chin, looking as if he was about to cry. He had been in that same spot for two hours, pondering the same question: "Why?"
He could not understand why Eiri had done what he did; Shuichi knew Eiri was drunk, but never had he lashed out at him Shuichi before, and never in his wildest nightmares did Shuichi ever think Eiri would hurt him like he did. The physical pain would eventually heal, but the emotional scar it had left would be there forever; Shuichi kept remembering what happened; remembering how he felt his heart sink when Eiri yelled at him in that devilish tone; remembering the pain as Eiri ripped his body to shreds; but he remembered most vividly how he felt knowing that it was his lover that was hurting him. As he shifted his legs closer to his chin, he began to weep as his backside ached horribly.
Then Shuichi remembered something else...he had to rehearse that day! But there was no way in heaven or on Earth he would be capable of singing, not for at least one day. After wiping his tears away, he reached into his pocket and jingled some coins around; he had enough to call the studio. He slowly got up, being careful not to make contact with his sore area, and walked out of the park in search of a telephone. Even this was a challenge - because Eiri had been so brutal with him, a simple exercise as walking was torturous to Shuichi; his jeans felt damp, and he figured he had bled again, but he really was not concerned about what people would think of a red blotch on his hindquarters. Shuichi crossed a busy intersection swiftly and spotted a payphone near the local library. He popped the coins into the slot and hastily dialed the studio's number and asked to speak to Hiro - he was in no mood to speak to K.
"Hello?"
"Hiro, it's me."
"Shuichi where are you? We're waiting for you."
"I know, I'm sorry...but I don't think I can rehearse today."
"What!", Hiro shouted, "why not?"
Shuichi cringed when he heard Hiro's annoyed tone, "Because...something happened last night...I'm just not in the mood to sing today."
Hiro could sense the uneasiness in Shuichi's voice and softened up a little, "What happened?"
Shuichi shuddered, "I...I don't want to talk about it."
"Is it something to do with Yuki?"
"No I don't want to talk about it!", Shuichi screamed through tears and slammed the phone down. He took off into the park and never looked back.
Back at the studio, Hiro looked both puzzled and annoyed.
"Was that Shuichi?", Suguru asked.
"Yeah, but he-"
"Why the hell isn't he here yet!", K shouted.
"As I was saying...", Hiro muttered nonchalantly, "...he said he couldn't be here today."
"Why not! He had better have a good reason for skipping practice", K was steaming.
Hiro was slowly getting annoyed by K's interruptions, but he kept it to himself since K was the one with the gun, "He said something happened last night and he didn't want to talk about it."
"Did he sound any different?", Suguru asked.
"At first he just sounded a little shaken up, but when I asked him if it was something Yuki did, he sounded like he was crying."
"Probably a good indication that it was Yuki."
Hiro sighed, "They probably had another one of their petty fights. But, we can't rehearse without Shuichi", he turned to his manager, "I want to go and look for Shuichi and...ummm...bring him here to practice." His voice was uneasy, and he hoped K would believe it.
"You had better", he snarled at Hiro.
Hiro gave K a 'thank-you' nod before darting out the door; he was more than intent on finding the cause of Shuichi's pain.
Eiri was walking around the house in nothing but blue jeans when the telephone rang. He took a long drag on his cigarette before answering.
"Hello?"
"Eiri, good I'm glad you're home."
"What do you want, Tohma?"
"I just wanted to know if Shuichi was there."
"Nope...he wasn't here when I woke up. Why, isn't he at the studio?"
"No - he never showed up for his rehersal."
Eiri was silent for a moment, "That's weird...not that I can complain about the silence."
"Sorry to ask this, but aren't you worried about him, Eiri?"
"Why should I worry about him? He's got his friends for that."
"But you're his-"
"Don't even finish that sentence, Tohma. Good-bye."
Eiri hung the telephone up - despite his attitude toward his brother-in-law, he was indeed very much concerned about the young pink-haired singer. "Where is he?", he wondered, "wherever he may be, I hope he's okay..." br>
p> p>
b>Author's Note: So this chapter was kind of stupid too. I promise that the entire story is not self-loathing. b>