Hello Hello! Just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone that has cast a vote so far and to thank everyone for reading!
-Shuichi77-
"Nnn…"
Shuichi groaned pathetically as he began to slowly come to. He slowly opened his eyes and his vision was very blurry for a few moments until all of his senses gradually returned to him one by one. The first thing he could make out was the sound of steady beeping followed by the sight of dim sunlight shinning in on bright white walls. He was then brought fully into consciousness at the sensation of gentle squeezing on his hand and the soothing sound of a familiar voice.
"Shuichi?" The singer slowly turned his aching head in the direction of the voice to see Ryuichi now standing at his bedside with a very worried expression on his face.
"R-Ryu….w-where…what's going on?" Shuichi's head still felt a little fuzzy and his memories seemed faint and distant. The weakness in the boy's voice was enough to break Ryuichi's heart and the brunette fought back tears as he gently climbed into the small bed before very gingerly placing his arm around the smaller boy so that his head was resting on his shoulder. The brunette then softly stroked the boy's now clean and soft pink hair.
"You're in the hospital sweetheart. You've been asleep for almost two days now." In his current state Shuichi couldn't quite wrap his mind around what he had just heard and all he could muster was the strength to look up at his partner with a questioning expression and choke out a few words.
"Wh-why? What happened…?" Shuichi was then immediately worried upon seeing the very pained expression on Ryuichi's face before he replied.
"Well, our press conference was cancelled due to some sort of last minute scheduling conflict with the American record label, so I came home early. When I got home, you weren't home so I went and looked for you everywhere and when I couldn't find you, I went over to Hiro's to ask if he knew where you were and well…he told me everything…about what Yuki was doing to you."
This caused Shuichi's eyes to grow wide in fear at the realization that Ryuichi now knew about his secret but he stayed silent as his partner continued, still trying desperately to remember anything that happened after the fiasco at the concert hall.
"So I went to Yuki's house to try and find you…." Ryuichi then paused and Shuichi's watched on in heart wrenching pain as large tears began to run down the brunettes cheeks followed by shallow sobs, which he had never heard from his idol before. "B-but…I was too late….by the time I found you, you were knocked out and tied naked to that bastards bed."
This caused all the dark spots in the singers mind to light up all at once and all of his memories came rushing violently back to him. The sudden surge of memories of being drugged, tied up and used was almost too much for the singers fragile mind to handle and he couldn't even find any words to say. The only response he had was to roll over to face away from his partner and curl up into a fetal position before letting large silent tears to roll down his cheeks. Ryuichi simply couldn't stand the sight of seeing his lover in pain so he placed a small gentle hand on the back of Shuichi's head in an attempt to comfort him.
"Please don't cry Shuichi…it's all over now, everything is going to be ok." This caused the pink haired boy to roll back over to face the brunette with tear filled eyes.
"It's not ok…this is all my fault. I should have never gone to see him in the first place and I shouldn't have let him blackmail me and take advantage of me…I'm such an idiot and I don't deserve to be by your side…" Shuichi then buried his face into the stiff pillow of his hospital bed and began to sob uncontrollably, causing the brunette to brush the hair away from his lovers face and gently coax his face out of the pillow.
"No Shuichi…this isn't all your fault, it's perfectly natural for a person to want closure after a break up, especially with the way he left you. There was no way you could know what he was going to do…" The soft sincerity in Ryuichi's voice was enough to calm Shuichi's sobbing only to be brought to tears again when the brunette began to cry again himself. "And…I'm the one that doesn't deserve to be by your side…I wasn't there to protect you when you needed it most…I-I failed you…" Shuichi could hardly stand to see the man he admired and loved so much in this much pain, and he weakly raised a wobbly hand to wipe the tears away from the brunette's face.
"Ryu….you didn't fail. You saved me….twice now." Hearing these comforting words warmed Ryuichi's heart and he quickly dried his tears before leaning down slightly to place a gentle passionate kiss on his lover's lips.
"I love you Shuichi…"
"I love you too…" This tender moment was enough to fill both boys with a small feeling of normality that brought great comfort to them both; this moment was interrupted however by the very obvious sound of someone clearing their throat. Both singers then turned their heads toward the noise to see a very tall, skinny, dark haired man standing in the door way wearing a white lab coat with a clipboard in hand.
"I'm glad to see that you are awake Mr. Shindou and for the last time Mr. Sakuma, hospital beds are not made for two. While you are here please use one of the chairs in the room, Mr. Shindou is still in recovery."
"Fine…."
Ryuichi was none too pleased with this request and gave a very pouty expression before gently climbing out of his partner's bed and returning to a standing position at the side of the bed. With Ryuichi now out of the doctor's way, the tall man made his way over to stand at the end of Shuichi's bed while flipping through the papers attached to the clip board.
"Thank you Mr. Sakuma. Now, Mr. Shindou, all of you tests have come back and it doesn't look like there are any broken bones or internal bleeding. The ligature marks on your wrists and neck as well as all of the bruises are all simply skin deep and will fade within the next few days." Shuichi really had expected some sort of horrible news, so this all came as a comforting surprise.
"That's great, thank you doctor."
"Yes well, although you are physically fine now we were able to get an idea of what might have happened: Your blood work came back just now and we found large amounts of a very power tranquilizer in your system as well as another substance that we haven't been able to identify. So it would seem that you were indeed drugged but with exactly what, I'm afraid we aren't sure. The good news however is that almost all of these drugs are out of your system now so you should slowly begin to feel better." These words were a blessing to the brunette who had been worried sick for days that something was seriously wrong with his partner and he was very quick to show his appreciation by extending a friendly hand out to the taller man who shook it firmly.
"Thank you very much doctor."
"Of course."
"So when can I take him home then?" Both singers were very anxious to hear the answer to this and both listened intently with eyes fixed on the doctor.
"Well although most of the drugs are out of Mr. Shindou's system, we would like to keep him overnight tonight for observation to ensure that there are no lasting effects. We also want to put him on a pain medicine regimen until the bruises start to heal and all the muscle swelling goes down." Ryuichi gave an affirming nod to the doctor's orders before addressing him.
"Whatever you say doctor, I just want him to get bet-" The brunette was interrupted however as the doctors words fully sunk into Shuichi's mind and he quickly shot up to a sitting position in his bed.
"No! I…nnn ow…" Shuichi was only up for a short second before a shooting pain shot through his body and a sharp pain ran down his spine and he collapsed back onto the bed with a groan, this outburst earning him a stern look from the doctor.
"Mr. Shindou please remain calm and stay lying down, you don't want to cause yourself any further injury."
"I'm sorry…but I can't stay here any longer." Shuichi then began to remove the blankets from his body and made a pathetic attempt to get out of bed with the IV still stuck in his arm. His attempt was futile as he was again filled with pain and forced to lie back down. Ryuichi was then quick to pull the blankets back over the boy before speaking to him softly.
"Shuichi, please do as he says."
"But I have already been here way too long. We have an album release right around the corner and I only have one song written. I can't let Bad Luck down."
"It's ok Shuichi; I already spoke with Mr. Sakano and Tohma and let them know what happened. Tohma said he doesn't want you to return to work until you have a clean bill of health."
"But….what about the album?"
"Tohma said he has faith in you and that in the worst case scenario, he will push the release date back a little to give you all the time you need to recover."
"B-but-"
"But nothing. You only need to worry about getting better." Shuichi was not entirely comfortable with the idea of missing any more work or pushing his release date back but he knew that he was no good to Bad Luck in his condition so he let out a long sigh before giving in.
"Alright…."
"Thank you." Ryuichi then leaned over to place a gentle kiss on the boy's forehead causing a small smile to cross his face. After he was sure their conversation was over, the doctor politely spoke up once again to address both men.
"Well all your vitals look good at the moment Mr. Shindou but you do need your rest, so I'll give you both a moment to say goodbye but then I must ask you to let your partner rest Mr. Sakuma."
"Alright."
"Great, I'll send the nurse in in just a few minutes to give Mr. Shindou his first round of morphine." Both singers gave an affirming nod at this. "Have a good day gentlemen."
"Thank you doctor."
"Yes, thank you."
"My pleasure."
With that, he doctor exited the room leaving the duo alone once again. As soon as the door closed, Ryuichi quickly snuck back into the bed and cuddled up next to his lover with a small giggle that in turn caused Shuichi to chuckle slightly at his playful partner. The duo then laid in peaceful silence together for a short moment before Shuichi timidly spoke up.
"Hey Ryu…can I ask you something?"
"Of course, you can ask me anything."
"Well I was just wondering…how did you get me out of Yuki's place? I remember being carried around, tied up and then everything went black and the next thing I knew, I was looking up at you; but then I don't remember how I got here." Ryuichi was actually rather happy to answer this, being rather proud of his daring rescue.
"Well at first he denied you were there but I got it out of him and he let me come get you…and I have to admit I did give him a good punch to the face…" This caused Shuichi to laugh slightly at the idea of the normally childish brunette getting one over on the writer. "…but when I was leaving, he did say something a little odd…."
"What did he say?" Shuichi then saw an odd expression on the brunettes face; it seemed like a mixture of confusion and pain.
"He said that he was the only one who could give you what you want and that I would never be able to." This baffled Shuichi completely as to why Yuki would say something like that and he meant by it.
"Give me what I want…? What does that mean?"
"I don't know…but he said that if I didn't know then I never would…and I have to say that what he said has been nagging at me…" Shuichi then gave his partner a sincere comforting smile before looking deep into his eyes.
"Well I don't know what he thinks he knows…but what I know is that all I need is you." This quickly erased the troubled expression from the brunettes face and it was replaced with a warm smile.
"Thank you Shui-chan." Ryuichi then took the smaller boys face gently in his hands and captured his lips in a tender kiss. Shuichi completely melted into the comfort of the lips he had missed so much and in that brief moment all his pain seemed to drift away and it felt to him that they were the only two people in the entire world. Shuichi had become so lost that when the brunette broke away, he let out a small whine that caused Ryuichi to chuckle slightly.
"Well I suppose I better be going then. You really do need your rest and I need to go down to the studio to take care of a few things." Shuichi couldn't help but to pout slightly at this.
"Alright…"
"Don't worry, I'll be back first thing in the morning."
"Ok."
The duo then shared one last kiss before Ryuichi reluctantly exited the room, leaving Shuichi alone with nothing but his thoughts. His thoughts and memories however were the very last thing he wanted to focus on so he did his best to distract himself by taking a good look around his hospital room. This did in fact come as a welcome distraction as his sight landed on the small table opposite his bed where various flowers and gifts were placed. He couldn't help but to smile as his examined each gift and could instantly tell who had placed it there. There was a large, very badly, hand drawn card with a picture of a guitar scribbled on the cover and Shuichi knew that it definitely Hiro's handy work. He then set eyes on a small plush bear that had a small bowtie tied around his neck that Shuichi would have bet money on that it came from Fujisaki. He was then filled with a warm feeling knowing that his friends cared so much about him and he finally felt truly relaxed and he rolled over onto his side to try and find a comfortable position. He let out a long sigh of comfort as he settled into his bed but was taken slightly by surprise when he looked over onto the small bedside table next to his bed and saw a single white rose with a small note tied around it. He didn't think that this was form Ryuichi, so he reached over and picked it up before unfolding the note with a curious expression. His relaxed and comfortable state was then brought to a screeching halt upon reading the note.
Until next time
XOXO
Shuichi then knew exactly who the rose was from and he was filled with a mixture of emotions all at once. He was furious that the arrogant blonde had the audacity to send him a rose after he was the one that put him in the hospital in the first place; but more than anything, he was afraid and curious as to how Yuki managed to even get into his room, let alone leave a rose. This all quickly became far too much for the singer to handle and he angrily crumbled the rose in his hand before throwing into the waste basket by his bed. He then rolled over in the opposite direction in a huff, so that he was looking out of the large window where he could see that the sun was already setting, and he did his best to try and relax again and put the blonde far from his mind. After a few minutes, Shuichi was finally able to drift away into a soft sleep that came as a great comfort.
Roughly twenty minutes or so passed by before Shuichi, even in his have awake state, heard the door to his room slowly open. The singer was not about to risk compromising his current state of rest however, so he simply ignored the sound, knowing that it was just the nurse coming to give him his medicine, and continued to try and sleep. Sleep quickly became harder and harder however as Shuichi was now focusing on the sounds of drawers being opened and closed and rustling of various things against the metal counter adjacent to his bed. After a moment, the room was silent once again but Shuichi was startled slightly at the sensation of small cold hands on his arm followed by the prick of a needle. Although this was a slight annoyance, Shuichi was none the less grateful to have some pain medicine so he groggily rolled over to thank the nurse. When he did however, his eyes grew wide in shock as he found himself face to face not with a nurse, but with a very familiar short woman in her distinctive round glasses and dressed in what looked like a store bought nurse costume.
"R-Reiji….?!" The small woman then gave a very sinister grin before speaking.
"It's good to see you again Shui-chan, it's been awhile." Shuichi would have been absolutely terrified just to see this woman on a normal day but now he was even more terrified as to what she was doing impersonating a nurse and what she just injected him with.
"W-what are you doing…" Shuichi's panic then began to increase as he could already feel his head get fuzzy as he was quickly slipping into unconsciousness.
"Oh I'm just doing a favor for a friend."
"Nnn…Wh…"
Shuichi could only manage a few pathetic syllables before he was once again forced into a deep sleep, not knowing what horrible things might lay ahead for him.
Meanwhile…
Ryuichi had been sneaking around the hallways of the N-G building, not wanting to deal with anybody, for almost an hour before he finally peaked around a corner and saw the person he was looking for.
"Pssssst….Mr.K…." Ryuichi was doing his best to be as quiet as possible and he was relieved when the tall American turned away from the woman he was talking to and walked toward where Ryuichi was hiding. Once K rounded the corner, he was abruptly yanked into a small room by the smaller brunette.
"Ryuichi, what is this all about?" Ryuichi was silent for a moment, listening to see if anyone was walking about the hallway outside the room but once he was sure they were alone he responded to the blonde who now had his arms crossed in a slightly annoyed manner.
"Mr.K , I need your help with something." K could hear the rare seriousness in the singer's voice and promptly uncrossed his arms and put on a softer expression.
"Sure Ryuichi. What's up? Is everything ok?"
"Well…I'm sure you heard about what happened to Shuichi?"
"Well all I was told was that he was in the hospital and would be out of commission for a few days. I assumed he is sick or something."
"He is in the hospital but he isn't sick…he was put there by Mr. Yuki" This caused K to put on a very curious and worried expression; it was true that it was no surprise to anyone that Yuki never treated Shuichi all that great but he didn't think that the blonde would ever actually hurt Shuichi.
"Really? What happened?"
"I don't want to get into the details but Shuichi was kidnapped and held hostage by Yuki and now he is recovering in the hospital."
"I see…well I'm sorry to hear that Ryuichi and I hope he will be ok, but what can I help you with?"
"Well in light of this recent event, I don't feel like Shuichi is safe. So I was hoping you would personally keep guard over him for a while; and I will compensate you handsomely for this service." K was silent in thought for a short moment before replying.
"Well I suppose I can do that; although I don't see how this is any different from what I do now."
"It isn't that different. Except that I would like him to be guarded around the clock and…I'd like you to use any means necessary to make sure that Yuki doesn't come anywhere near him." This caused K to grin slightly.
"Hmmm any means you say?"
"Right."
"I like the sound of that. Yeah, I'll do it."
"Great! Thank you Mr. K." The blonde then gently patted the top of the singers head with a wide grin.
"Of course. How can I say no to you?" This caused Ryuichi to giggle slightly before returning to a very serious tone once again.
"Oh there is one more thing."
"And what is that?"
"Under no circumstance can you say anything to Tohma about our arrangement." K raised an eyebrow curiously at this request.
"I can do that…but I am curious as to why you want to keep Tohma out of things. I would think that the safety of his new rising star would be very important to him."
"Well it is true that Tohma wants Shuichi to get better and he even admitted that Yuki was out of line, but he still has a great deal of feeling towards Mr. Yuki so I don't want to take any chance of him interfering or tipping him off." The taller man thought very deeply on these, balancing the pros and cons of doing anything behind his employers back; but in the end he decided that Tohma would never really fire him, he was after all the best manager that N-G had.
"Yeah I can see how Tohma might be a problem…alright, I'll make sure that he doesn't find out about my little side job." This brought great relief to the brunette and he suddenly threw his arms around the taller man, taking him just slightly by surprise.
"Thank you so much K. This really means a lot to me." K then gave his former client a large grin and pat him on the head once again.
"Anything for you Ryuichi." The brunette then gave a wide grin before shifting back into a serious tone.
"Well Shuichi is currently at the hospital so could you go ahead and head down there and keep watch over him?"
"Of course."
"Great. Thanks again K. I'm going to run home and grab Shuichi a change of clothes then I'll meet you at the hospital; I want to check on him one more time before I go home for the night."
"Alright, I'll see you there." The duo then exited the small room together before leaving the building and splitting up into opposite directions.
It was only about fifteen minutes until the tall gun slinging American was pulling up in front of the hospital. As soon as he stepped out of the car, he looked behind him to see that Ryuichi was now stepping out of the backseat of a black car and walking over to meet him.
"That was fast."
"Yeah well I already had a bag packed and I was anxious to get here so I hurried." K couldn't help but to chuckle slightly the brunette that was ruffling through the small duffle bag in his hands. "Don't laugh at me! That's not nice K! What's so funny anyway?" Ryuichi's voice and mannerisms were momentarily back to the normal bubbly childlike side of the singer, causing K to laugh even more.
"Oh nothing…you are just really funny when you're love." This caused a slight blush to cover Ryuichi's cheeks and he laughed slightly at himself before shifting back into a serious mode.
"Well let's get going."
"Alright."
The duo then entered through the automatic glass doors of the hospital and approached the female receptionist that was seated behind a large desk. Ryuichi was then quick to speak to the woman.
"Excuse me, we are here to see a patient." The sound of Ryuichi's voice caused the woman to look up from her papers with a smile.
"Certainly; what is the patient's name?"
"Shindou, Shuichi." There was then a short silence as the woman typed the name into the computer before looking back at Ryuichi with a slightly puzzled expression. "I'm sorry but it says here that Mr. Shindou checked out a little under an hour ago." This immediately threw Ryuichi into a panic and he suddenly dropped his duffle bag before slamming his hands down onto the desk in a panic.
"What?! No that can't be right. When I was here earlier the doctor said that he was keeping him here overnight for observation." The woman then turned her eyes back to the computer screen before addressing the brunette again with an even more confused expression.
"Hmmm this is odd…his chart says that he was supposed to stay overnight but it looks like one of our nurses cleared him for release. Funny though, there is no name listed under the releasing doctor or nurse…" Ryuichi was now in a full panic and was doing his best just to keep form hyperventilating. K quickly noticed his panicked state and stepped forward slightly to place a gentle hand on his back before speaking to the receptionist with a stern expression.
"Well surely he didn't walk out of here on his own, does it say if he was released to anybody?" Again the woman typed a few things before looking back from her computer.
"Yes actually. It says here that he was released into the care of one…Eiri Yuki."
TBC
Thanks again to everyone for reading! And I still need more votes! The score is currently tied and a decision must be made!
-Shuichi77-