As Time Goes By
Disclaimer: I am a poor, struggling college student and cannot afford a lawsuit on my hands. All credit goes to the creator of Gravitation: Maki Murakai.
(Note: Dialogue key:
-In English or languages familiar to both speakers.
-Character thoughts
- xSudden switch of languagex
Chapter 4
Icy Heart
Christian Palmer had just called over to him in the nick of time. He was actually scared that Ken was going to do something extremely stupid and violent to the novelist. The body language he emitted was hostile and the last thing Christian needed was to break-up a fight. He'd been in too many in the past and refused to have to handle issues with his fists or fool with people who chose to do so. Besides, they needed Eiri Yuki's skills for the time being.
Christian shifted from second gear to third swiftly, glancing at Ken from the corner of his eye as he watched the young singer stare out of his window. For some reason, Ken looked strangely familiar to the musician. It was like he'd seen him on television or on a poster somewhere. As a matter of fact, he could almost swear that Ken Davis looked like his idol that went missing four years ago: Shuichi Shindou, the lead vocalist of Japan's famous Bad Luck.
"You alright Ken?" asked Christian as he shifted to fourth gear.
Ken looked over at him and gave a small smile. "Yeah. Snobs like him just grate on my nerves though. They think they know every damn thing and try to push their intelligence on others. People like him are always the ones who stab you in the back in the end." he replied, facing the window again. "Makes me sick to my stomach."
Christian arched an eyebrow as he changed lanes. "Really? It seemed like you knew Yuki from before or had some kinda grudge with him in the past."
Ken chuckled. "What gave you that idea?"
He rubbed a hand through his platinum blonde hair, gently pressing down on the gas pedal. "Just a feeling I had. Anyway, so what's this Maya chick to you? A girlfriend perhaps?"
"No. Just a friend. She saved my life." Ken said, a now more gentle smile forming on his lips.
"Now I really want to meet this girl. She cute?"
"Beautiful. Oh, make a left here and it'll be the seventh house on the right. She should have the porch light on."
Suddenly Ken's phone jingled the song "Sleepless Beauty," one of Nittle Grasper's top chart pieces. Maya was on the other line, inquiring where Ken was. After explaining that they were almost there, he hung up. Christian smiled as he made the left and mentally counted the houses. "A fan of Nittle Grasper?"
With his peripheral vision, he saw Ken gaping at him. "You've heard of Nittle Grasper!"
"Yeah, they're awesome. The guys and I are huge fans of Bad Luck though. We actually formed Falter because of Bad Luck. We think the Japanese know what they're doing as far as musicians go. Is this the house?"
"Yeah. Oh, and I see Russell and the others made it in one piece."
The two stepped out of the car, watching as Yuki pulled up and parked on the curb near the house. They waited for the novelist to get out and then proceeded toward the front door. Maya must have heard them pull up because as soon as Ken opened the door, she pounced on him and embraced his neck happily as he laughed. Christian smiled at the cheerful exchange, catching the somewhat irritated expression of Yuki that lasted only a second.
Maya smiled and gestured for them to come inside. "I'm sorry. Please come in and make yourselves comfortable. Dinner's almost ready."
Maya showed Ken and his two other friends inside the living room. She smiled as she saw Russell and Benny going head-to-head in Dead or Alive 2. It was one of her favorite fighting games and she had gotten really good as of late. Maya was absolutely determined to beat Ken even if it killed her. James just sat leisurely on the couch, laughing occasionally at the frustrations of either Russell or Benny as they proceeded to pound each other.
"Maya, why'd you have to go and let them get on the PS2?" Ken asked, exasperated.
Maya shrugged. "Well, they got here so quickly and were bored waiting on you guys so I let them play. I wasn't done with dinner yet so I couldn't just feed them."
After Benny cried out in anger at losing to Russell again, he handed the controller to James to take over. Benny tossed some of his hair away from his pale blue eyes. "Maya can kick ass, let me tell you. She's already told us about her goal to beat you down in this game. She already beat the hell out of James, Russell, and me!"
"You suck at video games anyway Benny." said Russell, back turned to the others as he proceeded to unleash a lethal combo with Kasumi.
"Fuck you Russell."
Maya giggled. "Well, I know about those guys so how about these other two Ken?"
Ken nodded and placed a hand on a fairly tall, platinum blond guy who had dark red streaks through his neck length hair. "This is Christian Palmer. He plays lead guitar. Chris, this is Maya Kinsburrow."
Christian grabbed Maya's hand and kissed the back of it gently. She blushed. "Nice to meet you Miss Kinsburrow."
"Just Maya please. And who is this guy Ken? Is he a member too? I thought you said there were only the five of you?" she asked as she stared at the tall, handsome blonde man. His amber eyes, however, frightened her just a bit.
She noted that Ken's amethyst eyes darkened just for a moment. Is he mad?
"This is Eiri Yuki and he's our lyricist, temporarily." Maya also noticed that Ken said the last part through clenched teeth.
Maya smirked, raising one of her eyebrows. Yep. He's mad.
The sound of the oven dinging brought her back to reality. "Alright everyone, you can head on over to the table. Dinner's ready!"
At the dinner table, Yuki studied all of the young people's expressions as they ate. The dish, known as Maya's "Super Special," was an amazingly tasteful Indian dish that reminded him of a spicy kind of rice pilaf. He also replayed what had transpired in the parking lot earlier inside his head. Yuki always knew how Shuichi could get when he was angry, but he never recalled him being so vicious in the past. His words actually caused Yuki to freeze up momentarily.
Suddenly everyone laughed, bringing Yuki back to reality. Benny had attempted to snatch some food off of Russell's plate and got stabbed by Russell's fork in the process. While Benny whimpered, Russell continued to eat his food as if nothing had happened. Yuki glanced over at "Ken" and could see the laughter cover his entire face. "Shuichi Shindou" appeared whenever he laughed or smiled. He could change everything from his hair color, eye color, voice, and clothing style but Shuichi would always give himself away when he laughed or smiled.
Yuki felt an ache well up inside of his chest and his eyes furrowed as he gazed upon his former lover. Four years…four years and I've finally found you Shuichi. Won't you at least give me a chance to make-up for the wrong I've done?
He saw Shuichi glance over at him, his laughter ceasing almost instantly. The young singer cleaned his plate and left from the table and made his way into the kitchen. Yuki gazed at the only girl at the table: Maya Kinsburrow. She had flawless brown skin and long black hair, her hazel eyes accenting her skin tone nicely. What was her relationship with Shuichi? Was he using her by claiming that she was his girlfriend? Were they just friends? The novelist found himself instantly jealous of Maya and desperate to get Shuichi away from her.
Maya smiled, putting more of her "Super Special" onto Benny's plate as he rubbed his wound. "Russell, you bastard."
Russell snorted as James continued laughing. "That's what you get. You have no claim on my food so just back off."
Maya laughed. "If you wanted more Benny, you could've just asked."
Benny's eyes glittered as he forgot about his wound, one fist balled up in determination. "That's not the point. It tastes better when it's acquired using evil methods!"
"You're an idiot." James said frankly.
Shuichi exited the kitchen and passed the dinner table. Yuki felt his eyes following after him as Maya stood from her seat to go to the kitchen. "Where are you off to Ken?"
"I'm gonna go take a shower. I'll be back in a few. You guys can just chill for as long as you want."
Christian's eyes changed to a worried expression, making Yuki's anger flare up slightly. "You sure you're alright man?"
Shuichi nodded. "Yeah, I just need a shower. I'd say sleep because of today's intense rehearsal, but you all are my guest and so I have to entertain you."
"It's okay. Maya is plenty of entertainment for us, right guys?" James asked.
Yuki saw Shuichi's eyes narrow. Why's he…angry?
"Yeah, I can just kick their asses in DOA all night."
Benny smiled. "YAY! More DOA! I'm gonna win this time."
"Fat chance." snapped Russell.
As Shuichi exited the dining area, Yuki decided to do the same. After asking where he was to put his dish and Maya said just to leave it and that she'd take care of it, the novelist followed after Shuichi down the hallway and into Shuichi's room. The singer had already made his way into the shower and so Yuki took this time to explore the room. His bed was neatly made, a black comforter donning its entirety. There was an electric and acoustic guitar on the opposite side of the room on their stands next to relatively large amplifiers. There was a tall bookshelf, full of books no less, placed next to a standard writing desk with paper scattered across the table top.
Yuki noted that there was plain white paper and sheet music paper. He smiled. He could abandon everything…but not his one true happiness in life.
He looked on the white-washed walls and saw many different posters hanging everywhere. There were posters of American bands such as Linkin Park, Nirvana, Metallica, Foo Fighters, and many other great bands. He also noted that there were several posters of Nittle Grasper up and Yuki smiled. Of course his Shuichi wouldn't forget his favorite band of all time, the group that inspired him to become a star in the first place. Hanging right above his bed was Bad Luck's most popular poster. Yuki knew he must miss Hiroshi and Fujisaki very much.
"What the hell are you doing in here?" asked a very pissed off voice from behind him.
Yuki turned and saw Shuichi drying his hair with a towel, his torso fully exposed. Droplets of water trickled down the middle of Shuichi's well-built chest muscles and continued to trail down his abs. Clad in just a pair of plain, black boxer shorts, Yuki could see the singer's thigh muscles tense. He must have hated being looked over like he was, but the novelist couldn't help himself.
Holy shit…Shuichi's not so puny anymore. He's ripped! Yuki thought, slightly thrown aback.
He watched Shuichi shake off droplets from his blond locks and draped the towel over his shoulders. "I asked you a question. I'd like a decent answer before I throw you out." Shuichi asked coldly.
"Shuichi, I-" Yuki began, but stopped when he saw the musician sling his towel at him full force.
Yuki caught the towel in time, but was knocked onto the bed by Shuichi as he raced toward his bedroom door. He slammed it shut and locked it angrily. As he spun on his heels, he glared down at Yuki with eyes full of hostility. This caused the novelist's heart to skip a beat as he watched Shuichi's chest heave from the anger that was slowly welling up inside of him.
"Don't you ever call me by that name again! You have no right to even utter that name!" spat Shuichi.
"Shuichi, please listen." pleaded Yuki.
Shuichi flew his arm to the side. "SHUICHI IS DEAD!" he screamed, then paused a moment to let his anger subside. "Get out." he muttered grimly.
The frostiness of Shuichi's words forced Yuki to muster up as much courage as he could. Yes, he'd been wrong. But he'd be damned if Shuichi wouldn't hear his apology and at least hear him out. Yuki flew from the bed and flung himself onto Shuichi, his hands clutching onto the singer's wrists as he pushed him against the door. He was slightly disheartened that Shuichi chose not to struggle against him. Instead, when Yuki tried to gaze into those beautiful amethyst eyes that he adored, they glowered back at him. He had never remembered Shuichi being so ferocious.
"Shuichi, I know that the last thing you want to do is listen to my excuses or even see my face. But you have to listen to me. I want to apologize for what I did. I know that what I did to you was inexcusable and no matter how angry I was or how eager I was to get my point across, I shouldn't have tried to test your feelings for me the way that I had. That night when you came back from your rehearsal, I-"
"Enough." Shuichi cut in. Yuki felt the young man struggle against his binds slightly. "I don't want to hear your fucking lies."
Desperate, Yuki moved in and kissed Shuichi unexpectedly, holding strong onto his wrists. He forced his mouth open and tried to gain entrance, but Shuichi pushed against Yuki's tongue forcefully with his own. After breaking the kiss, Yuki was now furious. Was he really so pissed off at him that not even his desperations could reach him?
"So, by leaving everyone you cared for back in Japan, you decided to come here and have some woman lick your wounds? What the hell is that girl to you? A rebound? Some kind of comfort toy you play with?" Yuki lashed out bitterly.
Shuichi's eyes flew open in rage and he skillfully wrenched his arms free from Yuki, pulling his right arm back and slamming his fist into the novelist's jaw. Yuki tumbled into a heap onto the floor, but quickly recovered himself as he felt the blood trickling from his mouth. He gazed up and saw Shuichi had remained in his attack position, chest heaving slowly as his fist trembled with rage. The singer's eyes were like piercing knives, ready to cleave the novelist to ribbons.
Yuki wiped the back of his hand against his chin in an effort to clean the blood off. Damn, that was one helluva punch!
Shuichi regained his composure and closed his eyes. "If you ever speak ill of Maya again, I'll kill you. That woman happened to be the person who was there for me when I was on the edge of losing it all. She saved my life and I will repay her kindness someday, even if it takes my entire life to do so." he said softly, eyes reopening. They were a little more gentle now than they had been all evening. "I won't go back with you Yuki. Yes, I loved you at one time in my life but now things have changed. There's nothing you can do that will change my mind. You better go back to Japan as soon as your job with Falter is finished. I don't want what little respect I have for you to disappear."
"What about Bad Luck? Are you just going to let them remain in hiatus because of your selfishness? They need you! K's threatening to come to America and put a bullet in the back of your throat if you don't come back!"
Shuichi's eyebrow twitched slightly at the mention of his crazy American manager. "Then I better be prepared to eat lead. I'm not going." He opened the door and stood to the side of it. "Goodnight Yuki. I'll see you at rehearsal tomorrow."
Yuki rose slowly, dusting off his slacks and heading toward the open doorway. Before completely exiting the room, he felt Shuichi touch his shoulder as he gently pushed him out and quietly closed the door behind the novelist. He couldn't believe how determined Shuichi was to hold this grudge against him. Yuki remembered how stupid his actions were, but he didn't think that Shuichi would go to this degree to get vengeance. Was he really content here in the States, living under the roof of this woman who had supposedly saved his life?
I suppose I'll have to ask her that story someday. I want to know just how it is she saved Shuichi's life that he feels that he's indebted to her. Is that what's keeping him tied to this place? Yuki thought, then sighed. Well, regardless of the reason, Shuichi is coming back with me if it's the last thing I do. I won't lose him so easily.
Author's Note: Alright, so what did you guys think of this chapter? Was it good, bad? I think it's kinda funny how Shuichi is very forceful now. It's almost like Yuki and he switched roles huh? I wanted to play with Shuichi's character a bit and see how far I could push his character before he reverts back to his bubbly nature. But don't fret people! You WILL discover just what it is Yuki did to make Shuichi so angry in the NEXT chapter! I promise! Well, I don't know what the next chapter will be called, but look forward to the next installment of As Time Goes By.