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Snow.

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Chapter Nine.


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Two Days Later.

The Sakura Cafe.

Tokyo, Japan.


Hiro rubbed his fingers against his aching head.

The three hours since he had arrived at the Sakura Cafe had been full of bickering, mostly domestic, between Mr. and Mrs. Shindou. Or Snow. Whatever it was that Shu was going by these days.

The constant arguing was really starting to get to him.

He considered himself a peaceful person by nature, hating most violence. It was just easier and less painful to solve things with words instead of fists. Unfortunately when you were friends with Shindou Shuichi, blabber-mouth extraordinaire, you tended to get mixed up in things you didn't really want to be. Gangster vendettas included.

Ugh, this was probably not good for his recovery at all.

He knew he probably looked ridiculous right now, with two bruises under his eyes and a swollen nose. Two days later and the swelling still hadn't gone down. He snuck a look at Autumn who was staring at his nose mournfully.

He laughed quietly to himself; she'd spend the majority of the last couple of days trying to make it up to him. He should probably tell her at some point that he forgave her but he was kind of enjoying the attention. He was a red-blooded male after all.

The thoughts caused a pang in his stomach. Yeah, maybe he should talk to her. He didn't want to give the wrong impression to her. That would cause a shit-load more drama that he did not need.

But unfortunately, distancing himself from her was harder than it looked. He was kind of getting attached to her.

To distract himself he looked around at the other patrons. They seemed to be sending a lot of glances in the direction of his table. That would either be because of Dolly and Shu's loud quarrelling, or because it was unusual for there to be a group as big as this in such a small cafe. The staff had even had to push two tables together to accommodate them.

In addition to the full Rampage posse; Dolly, Danny, Autumn, Shu and their weird manager who was listening to her iPod on full, there was also him and Eiri; the latter sitting there, chain-smoking and typing calmly. Also, they were expecting Seguchi-san three hours ago.

It was the NGR head who had suggested the cafe in the first place; he maintained that that Rothford guy probably wouldn't do anything in such a public place. Despite setting the place and the time, Seguchi-san hadn't even bothered to show.

Three hours in the company of two people who wouldn't shut the hell up...Regardless of his feelings towards violence, if Seguchi wasn't his boss, he'd pop him one right in the kisser.

If he ever showed that was.

Frankly, Hiro was surprised Eiri, who'd arrived an hour late himself, was even sticking around. The author was being his antisocial self, typing along on the laptop he'd brought with him, a cigarette permanently sticking out of his mouth. He seemed to be doing a fairly good job of ignoring the two loud-mouths sitting three feet from him.

Hiro looked suspiciously at him. It didn't add up, at all.

"Oh my god," Autumn finally burst. "Would you guys shut the hell up?! I feel like my eardrums are going to implode into my brain or something!!"

Well, Hiro thought wryly, if people weren't staring at them before they sure were now after that outburst.

"Nice." He muttered.

Autumn noticed the stares she was receiving and sunk back into her chair, her cheeks red. "Well, it was kind of getting to me, you know?"

"Yeah, I know." He assured her. "And, thanks. My head was killing me."

Her eyes lit up. "Ooh! I have some Midol in my purse if you want some."

"Isn't that stuff for periods?" Danny interrupted.

Hiro burst out laughing.

Autumn winced. 'Yeah...thanks for that Danny."

Hiro halted his laughter as his nose gave a particularly bad throb.

Autumn smirked. "Yeah well, serves you right, dude."

"It serves me right to have a broken nose?" Hiro asked mock-innocently. "I thought that was your doing, Autumn." He almost regretted his teasing as she flipped back into mother hen mode.

Across the table, Dolly and Shu had sunk back into whispered conversation that was sure to blow up into raised voices in a matter of minutes as had happened every other time someone had told them to shut up.

In fact, Hiro noticed, everyone had yelled at them at least twice except for Aubrey and Eiri. Aubrey, who was listening to old Bad Luck of all things, was understandable. But Eiri...

Hiro looked again at the oblivious novelist. "It's weird," he whispered to Autumn and Danny; the only two people who were listening, "How had he managed to concentrate this whole time?"

Danny shrugged. "Mister Yuki is gifted in ways that we mere mortals cannot even comprehend."

Hiro gave him a strange look. "Gifted in terms of being permanently pissed off maybe."

Autumn sucked the last of her drink through a straw, making an annoying slurping noise. "Eiri wears earplugs in situations where it's too loud for him to work." She informed them.

Hiro gave her a strange look too. "And how would you know that then?"

She shrugged. "Maybe I'm psychic?" She offered them. "I'm sure if you were psychic you would have stopped yourself from breaking my nose."

"Come on!" She begged. "I said I was sorry like a million and two times."

"You also pledged servitude for life to me, if I remember correctly." Hiro mused.

Danny smirked at his band mate. "Oh I know what kind of a slave Autumn wants to be."

Autumn hissed something at him that Hiro couldn't hear. But apparently it was effective because the drummer turned pale, or as pale as he could get, and stared at his drink. Hiro looked enquiringly at Autumn. She winked. "I have wicked blackmail."

"The matter isn't under discussion." Dolly's voice interrupted them.

Shuichi scowled at her. "It's my life."

"Yes, well, until you figure out how to control it, your life decisions are in my hands."

"What are they talking about now?" Hiro asked Autumn who had suddenly stiffened. "Um, I'm not sure I want to know...or that they want others to know!" The last part she said extra loud so Dolly and Shu looked over at their audience.

Hiro was surprised at the death glare Dolly shot him. "We will continue this later." She warned Shu.

"Not if I have anything to do with it." Shu muttered under his breath. "Oi, where the hell is Seguchi anyways?"

Danny shrugged. "He's probably bailed on us. I wouldn't want to be involved with this...if this didn't concern Shu, whom I love." He backtracked, feeling Dolly and Autumn's glares on his face.

Dolly tapped her fingernails impatiently on the table before bolting up, catching the attention of all at the table including Aubrey who pulled her headphones off and Eiri who pulled out two small ear-plugs from his ears. Hiro wondered briefly how Autumn was right about that.

"That's it," Dolly declared into the sudden silence. She turned to Shu. "Get your coat dear; we're leaving."

Shu shook his head. "We're staying right here."

Right then Danny noticed something off about the sudden silence. "...guys..."

"You," Dolly stabbed a fingernail into her husband's chest. "have no say in this. This is all your fault after all. If you were at all capable of keeping it in your pants–"

"Guys?"

"Look, despite my better judgement, I let you drag me here. I'm not going to run away again." Shuichi shot back.

Dolly let out a small shriek of frustration and grabbing her plate from the table, smashed it down onto Shuichi's head. "What better judgement?!" She yelled. "You have the worse judgement of anyone I've ever met!"

Autumn sighed. "This is going to take awhile."

"Guys!" Danny tried again.

"Shut up Danny." Shu snapped as he stood up as well, using the four inches he had on his wife to his advantage. "If I were to leave now, there is no way you could do anything about it." He told her before spinning round and storming off.

Eiri snorted. "Idiot, acting without thinking again." He stood too. "I'll bring his punk ass back."

"There's no need." Danny said airily. "He won't get far."

Eiri began to get a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dolly scorned.

Danny indicated behind him. "What I was trying to tell you before...they're already here."

Hiro turned around in his seat to see the proverbial elephant in the room he'd completely missed. Every patron; even the old baa-chan in table four, was pointing a gun right at them. He didn't need the tall blonde man, the only one without a weapon, walking towards them to realise exactly how much shit they were in right there.

Shuichi stood in the midst of them, his hands up, with a good half of the weapons pointed in his direction. "For the record," he called over his shoulder. "I really hate when this happens."

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One day before.

The Imperial Hotel.

Tokyo, Japan.


The idea of family was strange, Shu decided. It was like a large tree with so many branches assigned to different people.

There was his blood family, but he wasn't really close to them excluding his sister. He hadn't yet spoken to his mother, nor knew if she wanted to, and his father died while he was in his self-exile. Or so Maiko had told him. Heart attack apparently.

Truth be told, Shu wasn't exactly sobbing at his gravestone. The man had been a bastard and Shuichi was never the son he wanted. He was never particularly good at the book shit, not bad at sports and fantastic at music. But if his son's career as a pop star pissed the guy off, the news that his son was shagging another man sent him over the edge.

Shu could still remember the day he was summoned to his childhood home; his mother in tears, his sister locked in her room and his father advancing on him with meaty fists clenched.

(("I always knew you were a disappointment boy, but I NEVER raised you to be a fag."))

Shuichi squeezed his eyes shut and concentrated on his breathing for a few moments. He figured if he could count to twenty without giving in to the blue then he was in the clear. Literally.

...18.

...19.

...20. There. He did it.

Shuichi reached for Dolly's silk-tipped filters for a congratulatory smoke. He didn't give a fuck about smoking in the hotel room but he couldn't be fucked dealing with the smoke-alarm if it decided to go off. Ticking fucking bombs those smoke alarms were.

The ones back home

((??))

–shutupshutupshutup-

always went off whenever he stayed in the bathroom too long and steamed it up.

So instead of risking getting a headache from the shrill noise, he decided to go sit on the balcony instead.

See? He was capable of fucking rational thought as much as the next person.

He lit up angrily and sucked smoke into his lungs; the burn wasn't as good as it was with weed, but Autumn had the stash and he couldn't be bothered being under her 'watchful eye'.

((bABYSITTER.))

He kneaded his head in frustration. It seemed that whenever he thought he was getting better, he got worse.

He didn't feel like letting Dolly know; she was even more controlling of his actions than Autumn.

Bitch.

He felt resentful of her interference; dragging him back here and enlisting Seguchi's, of all people, help. Just let her fucking father come for him; he didn't give a fuck if he died. But then she had to bring Hiro and Eiri into it.

It would have been easier if he'd just died without ever seeing them again. They'd probably thought he was dead anyway so what was the big issue? Of course now they knew he was alive again he couldn't go off and get himself killed.

He might not give a fuck about his real family but he'd gained Hiro and Yu-Eiri as compensation. It was like he sawed off a chunk of his tree only to grow two new branches. And he had Dolly and Autumn and Danny and Aubrey, he supposed, too. So obviously his tree had grown substantially and now he had too many branches for him to just go off and die.

He suspected that Dolly knew this when she brought him here, but he could never be sure with her. She was sneaky.

It occurred to Shu that he didn't know very much about his band mates' trees. He knew they were bonded together and he knew some stuff about their lives but it occurred to him that no one in his band ever talked about their past.

He'd suspected some of the stuff that went on between Dolly and her father but for someone with her nose stuck in so many people's business, she was surprisingly private about her own.

He dragged deeply on the cigarette. It was funny; before he left Japan he'd never actually smoked. Even though his lover and best friend had both been chain-smokers, he'd never gotten into the habit himself. He snorted gently; now look at him. He was a regular chimney; that was for sure.

He blew out a large cloud of smoke. It clouded the air around her; kind of like his life was right now. Everything was so fucking clouded with him. Like there was a smoke screen constantly separating him from the outside world. But one thing was certain; he'd do anything and everything to keep Eiri and Hiro in the clear. They deserved better than him.

((bROKEN))

Yuki Eiri's psyche had nothing on his. And Hiro wasn't even damaged anyway.

They were to be protected, at all costs.

He heard the sliding door open behind him. He sucked furiously on the cigarette.

Couldn't they leave him alone? Were they afraid he was going to jump off the balcony or something? He wasn't.

Not in Japan at least.

"Oh there you are." Dolly's perky voice greeted him. "I was wondering where you'd gotten off to."

"Without you to babysit, you mean?" Shu said bitterly. He flinched as her hands came up to stroke his hair.

She paused and put her hands back in her lap. "Please don't be like that Shu. We're doing all we can here...to save you."

"And what if I don't want to be saved, huh?" Shu demanded. "What then?" He knew she didn't particularly like his attitude, but at the moment he didn't really care. He felt a stinging slap on his cheek.

"You are selfish." He didn't expect that. He looked at her to see barely suppressed rage. "To think that your life is only about you." She spat. "There are people here who are risking their lives for you." She cut across him before he could counter. "Oh I know you never asked them to do that. You never had to. They love you, we love you, and if you think that I'm going to sit here and listen to you completely disregard them like common rubbish then you have another think coming Shuichi Shindou!" She was panting heavily by the time she was done.

Shu turned back to his cigarette to avoid her glare. Perhaps he was selfish, a coward too.

"Autumn. Danny." She began listing. "Aubrey. Ryuichi. K. Me...think about Hiro, and Eiri."

Shu snorted. "What do you care about them?"

"Maybe I don't personally. But I care about you, and I care about Autumn."

"Autumn?"

Dolly flushed. "Erm, well haven't you noticed her with...Hiro?"

He had. His darling hippy friend wasn't the most discreet in her courtship. Or what she considered courtship; frankly he didn't see how breaking someone's nose would get them to like you. Poor Autumn; she was set up for failure.

The branches of his tree were interlinking. Maybe it was time to do a little pruning.

But to betray one friend to help another?

On the one hand, Hiro was his other half; his best friend. But what he was doing was inherently wrong and Shu knew Autumn deserved better. She was like his sunshine.

He knew that to put both together he'd choose Hiro on top each time.

((But if the situation were to benefit Hiro?))

A realisation occurred to him that if it did end up well, then Hiro would be exposed. That could not happen. It was for his own good that this little fling was nipped in the bud. And who was a better pruner that his darling wifey?

"It won't work out." He told her.

Dolly raised her eyebrows. "Why do you say that?" She asked curious. Like a bloodhound she sensed he knew something she did and that irked her. She wanted to know too.

Shuichi smiled cynically. "Because of Ayaka."

Now Dolly's curiosity was fully aroused. "And who, may I ask, is Ayaka?"

"His fiancé."

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Present time.

The Sakura Cafe.

Tokyo, Japan.


Eiri noted that even though there was a plethora of weapons pointed at him and those in his company, his eyes, along with the rest of his companions, were drawn to a single figure walking slowly towards them.

Immediately Eiri took reference of the greying blonde hair of the man and the chilling grey eyes which Eiri could easily recognise as those of a killer.

They were the same eyes that stared at him in the mirror each day.

So this must be the infamous Red Rothford. He was older than Eiri had expected. Perhaps in his youth he had been handsome with a straight aquiline nose and defined jaw. But age and his many indiscretions over the years had taken its toll on his looks. His cheeks sunk in and Eiri could clearly see marks from the battle's that had won him his title and allowed him to defend it for thirty years.

Despite his age, he stood straight-backed and tall as he approached them with a distinctive loping grace that reminded Eiri rather of a lion.

He inadvertently swallowed as the man paused beside Shuichi. However, his gaze only passed over his son-in-law before searching and fixing on his daughter. A slick smile spread over his lips. "Hello Lolita."

Eiri felt rather than saw the girl tense and momentarily felt sympathy for her. The man was looking at her like a predator with a look unlike any Eiri had ever seen a father give his child.

Eiri looked discretely at all the guns and mentally cursed Seguchi for his tardiness. He swore than if he got out of this alive and found that the CEO had simply forgotten about the meeting then he was going to skin his brother-in-law alive.

It was unlike Tohma though, to flippantly forget about something of this importance. Even so, Eiri was going to maim him.

He was broken out of his fantasies of medieval torture as Red spoke again, this time to Shuichi. "Sit down boy."

Eiri bristled automatically. No one was allowed to speak to the brat like that. Excluding himself of course.

Shu shrugged noncommittally but did as he was instructed. Eiri sent a glare at him; this was no time for adolescent attitudes.

Red himself grabbed a chair and joined them, sitting between Autumn and Danny who both shifted away. Red looked over at Danny who was shaking visibly. "Ah, Dhanesh. How have you been?" His voice was domineering and caused the sensitive drummer even more anxiety.

"I-I'm fine s-sir." Danny stuttered. "A-and you?"

"You don't have to answer him, Danny." Dolly told her band mate.

Red frowned at her but it was more mocking than anything. "Do not interrupt me, Dolores. I know I taught you proper manners somewhere in your childhood."

There was something hidden in his words that Eiri didn't quite catch. He could tell Dolly did though as she stilled and sank back into her seat.

"Tell me, dad." Shu cut in. "Is there something you wanted? Or is this just a family reunion?"

Eiri froze at the blatant disrespect in her voice. Was the idiot trying to get himself killed?? Oh he was going to throttle the brat as well when this was over.

He and Tohma could get to know each other...in the boot of Eiri's car.

Shuichi's rudeness didn't go unnoticed by Red either. But the gangster chose to ignore it; instead he selected a clean cup from the untouched tea-tray a waitress had brought over to their table prior to when everyone in the restaurant pulled out a fucking piece.

Everyone at the table watched with baited breath as he tipped a small amount of milk from the pitched into the cup and skilfully poured in tea. He stirred twice with a teaspoon before lifting the cup up to his lips.

If possible all air was sucked from the room at that very moment. He put the cup back on the saucer with an unreadable expression. "It's cold." He commented after a moment.

"It was served two and a half hours ago." Dolly said irritably.

Red nodded. "Ah." He didn't say anything for a few minutes after this and no one wanted to interrupt him either.

Finally he sat back and clicked his fingers. "Oh yes, now I remember. You asked whether I was here on business matters or personal." He directed this to Shu who nodded. Red sighed. "Unfortunately I am here on business only. Much as I enjoy visits with my only child."

Dolly twitched.

"You see," he continued. "I have had a member of my...family, lodge a complaint again you, my son." He smiled briefly at Shuichi.

Eiri noted that his eyes remained as chilling as ever.

"Naturally I cannot ignore such a complaint. So I come here, to you, to clear the air so to speak and get your opinion on the matter." Eiri became aware of more people moving through the crowd of mercenaries.

He saw Dolly's gaze fix on one; a young handsome man with dark hair and the familiar grey eyes. "Alexander." She muttered under her breath.

So this was the heir.

He watched as the man's eyes fell on Shuichi and his gaze tightened. Eiri tensed automatically. He didn't like the prick at all. Clearly Shuichi didn't either.

"And what," he said loudly. "If I don't want to 'clear the air'?"

"Shut up." Dolly hissed.

Red's eyes narrowed at him. "Then my men have every intention of 'helping' you until you become comfortable to share, Shindou."

"Are you sure they're still your men?" Eiri had never been so glad to hear Tohma's feminine tones that at that moment there.

Red stiffened and the five newcomers reached in their pockets but halted as the guns that had been trailed on Eiri's grouping were now pointed at them. Red's own hand had been trailing beneath his coat, to a hidden holster no doubt, but he too froze as the cold metal of a gun pressed again his temple.

"Not so fast." Shuichi's former psycho manager boomed.

Eiri was happy to see him as well. Kind of.

"Unfortunately for you Mr. Rothford," Tohma came into view, weaving amongst the pseudo-customers. "The sums you paid for these mercenaries were easily topped."

Red raised his hands slowly and placed them palm down on the table. "Clever. Mr. Seguchi, I presume?"

"Yes." Tohma admitted as he approached them. Eiri could feel his brother-in-law's eyes on him and assumed he was being checked for injury.

"I fear that there has been a misunderstanding." Red offered.

"Oh?" Tohma's voice was cold.

"There was a case of crossed wires, I'm afraid, between my nephew Alexander and my son-in-law here. I intended to straighten out any confusion and extend my sincerest apologies to Shuichi and to tell him that he is welcome back into England anytime he pleases."

Eiri had to hand it to the man; he accepted defeat gracefully.

Tohma didn't look convinced. "The mercenaries–"

"Were for Shuichi's protection only." Red interjected. "I'm sure we both know of Mr. Shindou's volatile and impulsive nature. I couldn't have him doing anything too reckless and risking his own safety."

Shuichi looked like he was going to argue but Eiri shoved a biscuit in his mouth.

Tohma gave a short laugh. "No, we couldn't have that. I trust your misunderstanding is straightened out."

"It is no longer an issue." Red promised. "Alec here has forgiven and forgotten; he's even been seeing another young lady."

The NGR head smiled. "I hope all is going well."

"Yes." Alexander's voice sounded forced. "It's going splendidly. Hopefully one day she'll even be my wife."

"Because then she'd definitely sleep with me." Shuichi taunted.

The man's face screwed up in anger. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU SHINDOU!!" He bellowed and dove at Shu.

Eiri intercepted him before he could reach the boy and swung his fist into the man's gut. He collapsed on the ground, winded.

"Alexander."The warning tone in his uncle's voice was clear. "Enough."

One of the men rushed forward and helped the mob heir up. Alexander shook him off, face red with exertion. He took a long look at Yuki Eiri and committed his face to memory. Shouldn't be so hard; how many blonde-haired golden-eyed Japs were there anyway?

"I think," Red lifted himself off his chair slowly, aware of K's gun trailing his every move. "That it is time we took our leave."

"Perhaps that is best." Tohma agreed. K nodded and lowered his gun, though he kept the safety off.

"I hope that you still intend to make England your home, Shuichi. And that you don't let a little thing like this sour our relationship." He leant over to his daughter who instantly stilled and pressed a long kiss against her forehead. "I'll be seeing you shortly, daughter." With that, he turned and left the cafe, his posse following in his stead.

They stood in silence for five minutes after his departure before K nodded to the mercenaries who lowered their guns.

"Well," Danny broke the silence. "At least we can go home now. Right?" He looked at Dolly who was frowning at the table, lost in thought.

He turned to Autumn instead who sighed. "I don't know Dan."

"Well I hope you'll stick around for a while." Hiro smiled at her.

Shuichi swallowed. The conversation he had last night with Dolly was playing through his head. He looked at Eiri who was speaking furiously with Seguchi and K.

They nearly died today.

They could have easily died.

The thought of their deaths being on his conscience chilled him to the bone. He was a hazard to be around. He was like fucking catnip for danger.

He was a threat to their safety and maybe it was better for them if they didn't have to be around him, didn't have to know the truth about him.

They lived two years in safe ignorance; one week back and he's getting them threatened by gun-point. It was better for them if they stayed ignorant; if they lived their lives without him.

He was so out of control he'd just get them killed in the end and he knew it.

He stood. Dolly was right when she said he was selfish. But now he was going to do the right thing; he was going to sacrifice his happiness for their well-being.

"Shu?" Hiro asked, drawing all attention to him.

"It's over." Shuichi heard himself say. "There's no reason for me to be here anymore."

He couldn't even look at Eiri.

"B-but–" Hiro spluttered.

"No reason." Shuichi told him firmly.

And walked away.


Okay, FINALLY I'm moving the story along. The whole Red-arc thing was getting to be a bore. So I decided to just push through it. And Eiri was being a stubborn ass and refused to get written. So sorry for any OOC-ness in him. Hey, how many people saw the thing with Ayaka happening? I tried to drop a few hints and remember that she was mentioned in the first chapter. The Autumn and Hiro situation just became more interesting...

Cop or criminal: When you're staring down a loaded gun, what's the difference?

Love Queen Cocaine

xoxo