A/N: I get home from school, pick up the mail, get a drink of iced tea, sit in front of the computer, open my mailbox and
BAM!
Thanks so much guys: ) Twelve reviews in one day!
BTW, things get a little dark this chapter, so BREAK OUT DA HANKIES!!
Disclaimer: (sigh) without the bubble wrap, I own nothing, especially not Gravitation...I bet Maki Murakami has bubble wrap...
And, here we go!
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Yuki gave a sigh of relief as he turned the final corner and was mere seconds away from the restaurant. As he managed to drive his car smoothly and quickly through the small lane that lead through to the parking lot in the back, he saw another car pull into the space, adjacent to his.
Yuki stepped out of his car first, followed by K, Suguru, and Hiro coming out of theirs.
"Did you try talking to him?" asked Hiro.
Yuki stayed silent. He looked down to the pavement, ashamed that his lover hadn't listened to him. K was the one who brought them back to the current state.
"We'll talk about this later when it's a fun memory, but right now, we gotta get going."
The other three nodded as they headed into the eatery.
Inside, it was crowded with people. Almost every table was filled to the brim with people. Yuki cursed under his breath. This place was huge! They'd have to split up and search the whole place!
"K, what do we do?" asked Suguru.
"We just have to go in there and search for them." He said.
"Excuse me, not without a reservation you don't." said a voice. It was a woman's voice. The group turned their heads to see a woman with her hair up in a bun and glasses, standing behind a podium. The woman looked to be in her late twenties, with nice auburn hair. She was wearing a suit.
"Excuse me?" asked Hiro.
"This restaurant is reservation only. You don't get in there without a reservation." She replied.
Suguru turned to her and started to beg. "Please ma'am, you have to let us in! It's a matter of life and death!"
She laughed. "I'm sorry, but you're going to have to try a little harder than that."
Yuki smirked. This was right up his alley. Almost as quickly as you could blink, he was inches away from the woman, his hand under her chin, tilting her head upwards towards his.
"C'mon, don't be like that..."
The woman blushed profusely as Yuki leaned down a little farther. "You're...Eiri...Yuki..."
Yuki's smile became more devious. "Of course I am...but the question is my love...who are you?"
She gulped loudly. As she spoke, she stuttered. "Y-Yume Mitarashi..."
"That's a beautiful name...I always loved girls named 'Yume'..."
Hiro and the others watched, convinced that Yume was going to die of a heart attack any moment. Her legs were becoming visibly shaky, and it was obvious she wouldn't hold out much longer.
"How'd you like to be my dream, huh?" Yuki said in a seductive voice, whispering in her ear. (Note, 'Yume" is Japanese for 'Dream')
Her nose had a small drop of blood coming from it, but she quickly wiped it away. "B-but...What about Shindo? Aren't you two..."
"Together?" Finished Yuki. He made a special effort to breath heavily into her ear, and whispered even softer. "He doesn't have to know..."
That did it. As the walls blocking the blood from overflowing gave way, she managed out a "OK, you guys are all set! Please enjoy the food!"
They all thanked her as they walked away, and as he passed by her again, Yuki winked. She was on the floor, out cold, in seconds.
"That was pretty smooth." Said Hiroshi
"I've had more than enough experience." Yuki replied coldly.
"Poor Yume though, huh? Thinking she's going to get a date with you..."
"Who?"
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It took only a few minutes to check the whole place. When the group met back together, they all had the same news.
No one could find Shuichi.
"Where the hell could they have gone?" said Suguru.
"Pick a place." Said K, mockingly.
"This isn't a time to be joking K! We need to really think about this!" said Hiro.
Yuki, who hadn't been listening, was already scanning his memory, trying to remember anything that could help them out...
"I know! How about I treat you to dinner? My friend owns this really nice restaurant not far from here. Please?"
'His friend...' thought Yuki.
"Hey, Mr. Yuki, are you ok?" asked Hiro. He touched Yuki's shoulder. Yuki turned and grinned.
"I have an idea..."
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After a little more seducing of Yume, they learned that the owner was also the manager, and he had an office upstairs, through the kitchen.
They headed up and K pounded on the door.
"HEY! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING KNOCKING ON THE DOOR LIKE THAT?!?" screamed a voice from inside. It was a man's voice. There was a loud booming as the man stomped to the door and nearly ripped it off its hinges when he opened it.
He had dark hair, mean eyes, and was also wearing a suit, like Yume.
As he looked at K, Hiro, and Suguru, he kept his scowled face, but when he got to Yuki, the color in his face dropped.
"Oh God...It's you..."
Yuki smiled evilly. "Yeah. I bet you didn't expect death would look this good, did ya?"
Before the man had time to question what Yuki said, the novelist had pushed him up against the back wall and was holding him up by his collar.
"You know something that we need to know." Said Hiro menacingly. K loaded one of his guns.
"And we're not leaving," he pointed the gun in the man's direction, "Until we get what we want."
The man was sweating profusely. "Please, don't kill me! You want to know about Kaneda Kitazawa, right?!" It was almost impossible to understand him through his stuttering.
Yuki's face drained of all color. Did that man just say...Kitazawa?
Hiroshi started next. " Kitazawa? Kaneda's last name is..."
"SHUT UP!" screamed Yuki. He turned back to the terrified man he was holding. "What about Kitazawa?"
He gulped. "You're talking about Kaneda Kitazawa right? The one who's trying to off your friend?"
Suguru tried to say something. "Yeah, so Kaneda changed his..."
"I SAID SHUT UP!" Yuki screamed again. He looked back at the man. There was so much anger in Yuki's eyes, he could have killed a lion with one look.
He started stuttering again. "Listen...You're Eiri Yuki right? The one who killed Yuki Kitazawa?"
Yuki merely nodded.
"Kaneda was Kitazawa's lover, and as revenge on you, for killing Yuki, Kaneda is going to kill Shuichi!"
Yuki's expression dropped. Did this guy mean to tell him that the reason Shuichi was in danger...was once again because of him?
Overtaken by shock, Yuki dropped the man and fell back onto the floor on his posterior.
K, however, didn't flinch. "Where is he taking Shuichi?"
The man raised his hands over his head and through his fear, managed out
"The abandoned apartment building on Minami street. The one they want to tear down in a few weeks. PLEASE, THAT'S ALL I KNOW!"
K pulled back his gun and put it away. "Good, because that's all we needed."
The man passed out shortly afterwards.
Hiroshi bent down to help Yuki up. "Listen, you can beat yourself up about this later. Right now, we need to go save Shuichi."
Yuki glanced up at him, already looking like a train wreck.
Hiro's face was very serious. "Your real lover."
Hiroshi pulled him up and nodded to everyone else, signaling that it was time to go. Now they knew where to go. Which meant that it was the moment of truth.
It was time to save Shuichi.
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Kaneda had since put the gun away, but that hadn't made Shuichi any less afraid. They were now coming up to an old building Shuichi had never seen before. From the looks of it, it seemed to be an abandoned apartment building.
Urashima parked just in front, and got out of the car. He opened to door for Shuichi, and as he got out, pointed the gun to his back so he wouldn't run away.
"Where are we?" he asked quietly.
Kaneda smirked. "It's just what it looks like. An abandoned building."
He thrust the barrel of the gun into Shuichi's back, telling him to move forward. He obeyed.
They went through the old door and started up the stairs. "Why are you going to kill me here?"
Urashima poke Shuichi with the gun again. "I'll tell you when we get where I want to take you."
It was about five more floors before Kaneda stopped him and told Shuichi to go into a room. "But, the door's boarded up." He said, pointing to the wooden planks nailed to the doorframe.
Kaneda momentarily left Shuichi's back to kick through the planks. The door almost broke in half from the force of Kaneda's foot braking in.
"Get in."
Shuichi complied again and walked into the room. There was nothing there. The low sunlight shone in through the old windows, illuminating the empty room, aside from some tattered curtains below the window panes and a couple of crates.
"Sit down." Kaneda commanded.
Shuichi took a seat on one of the crates, and Kaneda took a seat on the other one. He still had the gun in his hand. He examined it a little.
It was quiet for a long time. Urashima was the one who disrupted the silence.
"I still can't believe it happened." He said. It didn't seem like he was really talking to Shuichi. It was more like he was thinking out loud. "It still seems like yesterday that we were together, Yuki and I...all until he took that tutoring job for that little brat."
Shuichi watched his grip tighten on the gun.
"It's still so fresh...I can still smell our old house..."
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"Yuki! You're home late again! This is the third time this week!" Kaneda said as Yuki walked through the door. He ignored his lover as he hung up his jacket.
"Yuki, listen to me!" Kaneda approached him and turned him towards him. "Every since you got that job tutoring that Eiri kid, you've been so distant!"
Yuki pushed past his lover. "Look, he just needs a lot of help ok? We've been working on something lately that's been taking up a lot of time."
Yuki made his way into the kitchen and took out a beer. Kaneda rushed in after him, not willing to let it go just yet. "Yuki, what's wrong with you? All you are to me anymore is nasty!"
Yuki took the beer away from his mouth and slammed it on the counter. "Kaneda, will you just leave me alone? All you do is nag me when I get home! Maybe I want to rest, huh?"
He was about to leave the kitchen when Kaneda grabbed him and pulled him back into a kiss. Despite their argument, Yuki replied by kissing back, wrapping his arms around his lover.
When he pulled away, Kaneda embraced him, and Yuki did the same.
"I just miss you." He said, "I feel like I haven't seen you in years, and I feel like that kid is getting more attention from you than me."
Kitazawa pulled away from his lover a little. He looked down into Kaneda's eyes. "Hey," he raised his hand, reflecting the ceiling light off of his ring. He then took his lover's hand and shined the light off of his ring too. "If I wasn't prepared to give you all the attention in my life, I wouldn't have asked you to marry me."
Kaneda looked down and blushed a little. How could he have doubted Yuki even for a minute?
Before he knew what was going on, Kaneda was being carried by his lover up the stairs. "Yuki where are we..."
His lover kicked open the bedroom door.
"...Oh..."
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Kaneda was slapping the gun in his hands. "That was only a few weeks before he died..."
Shuichi hadn't said anything. He was listening to Kaneda's story, unmoving.
"I…I'm sorry…" Shuichi started, "I had no idea that Mr. Kitazawa even had a lover. Yuki never told me that…"
Kaneda laughed softly. "Yeah, because my Yuki kept me a secret. My Yuki fell in love with yours… and that's what got him killed."
Kaneda stood up and walked to the window. He leaned his arm against the wall and looked out to the now dark sky. "He was never good at controlling his desires…"
Shuichi understood so much more now. He would want revenge too…
But there was still one thing that he was confused about…
"But then, Mr. Urashima, last month…in the crosswalk…how did you know Yuki and I would be there?"
The older man snickered. "I didn't."
Shuichi raised an eyebrow. Kaneda looked back at Shuichi and turned; now leaning his back against the pane.
"I was just visiting Japan to see some relatives. I was driving down the street, and then I saw him…"
Shuichi was on the edge of his seat. Kaneda ran a hand through his hair. "I couldn't believe it when I saw him. I never thought my luck would be so good. After all those years, I came across my lover's killer in a crosswalk. I was at a red light, and when it changed, I hit the gas pedal as hard as I could. It got so fast, I had trouble controlling the car…"
Shuichi nodded. 'That explains the swerving.' He thought.
"And then, just as I was going to get my revenge on the man who killed my Yuki, you jumped in the way. Naturally, I had no idea who you were, and immediately feeling guilty, I sped off. But then…"
He glared at Shuichi.
"I discovered that your lover was Eiri Uesugi. I was overcome with joy. I thought, if I really want to hurt Yuki, I'll kill his lover…"
He pointed the gun at Shuichi's head and cocked it.
"…just like he killed mine."
Just then, there was a screeching of tires below the building. He looked back out the window and saw two cars pull up to the front of the building. He smirked and looked back at Shuichi.
"Well, speaking of Yuki, I think he just got here. And it looks like some of your friends are here too."
Shuichi's face lit up. More tears fell down his face again as he thought of his lover. 'Yuki! Even though I didn't trust him…he still came to save me!'
He looked up at Kaneda. The tears began to fall faster and heavier. "Please…Please Kaneda…I'm sorry for what happened in the past, but please, just kill me and don't harm Yuki!
Kaneda loaded some more bullets into his gun. "Sorry, but I have this strange feeling that I may have to kill him too."
Shuichi was shouting. "He was just a boy!"
"SHUT UP!" Kaneda screamed. He pulled the trigger and shot Shuichi in the arm. The singer screamed in pain as he fell over on the floor, already starting to pool.
"YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HAPPENED! THAT BASTARD STOLE MY LOVER FROM ME, AND THEN HE KILLED HIM! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND SHIT!"
He shot again, this time just grazing Shuichi's cheek. A small cut formed and more blood began to pool.
You could hear steps echoing through the hallway of the stairwell. Kaneda looked to the door, and then to Shuichi.
"I guess they heard you scream. They're on their way here."
He walked over to Shuichi and kicked him in the stomach, like a ball, throwing him across the room, closer to the door. Kaneda followed and placed his foot on the lower part of Shuichi's abdomen. This was to hold him in place. He cocked the gun again and aimed the barrel right at Shuichi's gut.
"The second your lover opens that door..." he grinned, "You die."
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Yuki and the others pulled up to the building in such a hurry that the tires screamed from the velocity of their stops.
Yuki was the first one out his car, followed by Hiro, Suguru and K not long after.
He threw the door open and rushed in. Yuki looked up at the massive stairwell. It could take hours to check every room in this place! Shuichi could already be dead for all he knew!
When the other three came in and realized what he did, Hiro was the first one to mutter "Fuck" under his breath.
"Let's just start looking." Said K. He then ran up the stairs and started exploring the second floor. Hiro and Suguru nodded and started checking the other rooms.
They were looking for a few minutes before Hiro stopped to look at Yuki, who hadn't moved, and was just standing there with his eyes closed.
"Hey, get looking! We don't have all night!" Hiro said.
Yuki however, remained still. He was trying to listen. Maybe he could hear…
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
He knew that voice anywhere! That was Shuichi, and he was defiantly screaming in pain. He immediately started running up the stairs. He was going too fast for the others to really catch up to him.
Yuki had gone a few floors up, and was listening again. He could hear the light hum of Kaneda and Shuichi's voices coming from a couple of floors up.
He ran up the stairs again. He was on the fifth floor now. He looked around. There were still plenty of doors up here too. Quickly, glanced around at all the doors. One of them looked like it had been broken into. The boards that had closed it off were in pieces.
That was where he needed to go.
Yuki ran to the door and shoved it open.
"Shuichi?!?" He yelled as he pushed the door with his side. The door fell off its hinges and Yuki looked into the room. There were two people. One had a gun, and the other…
"Shuichi!" he yelled again.
Shuichi had a terrified look on his face. There were tear streaks lining his face. "YUKI! GET OUT OF HERE!"
Yuki looked back to Kaneda. Shuichi was already bleeding from a wound somewhere else on his body, and Kaneda had the gun. He was aiming straight at Shuichi's body.
"WHY YOU…"
"YUKI!! GET AWYAY FROM…"
Shuichi couldn't finish his sentence. Yuki watched in horror as Kaneda shot his lover in the abdomen. There was a large splatter of blood. Shuichi's face was completely in shock. His eyes closed slowly as his body went limp.
"NO!" he screamed. Just as Yuki was about to charge at Kaneda, there was another fountain of blood that suddenly shot out from the center of Kaneda's head. He fell back, completely motionless.
K put his gun away. "Don't screw with me." He said.
Yuki would have thanked him, but he was busy being at Shuichi's side. With the outmost care, he lifted Shuichi's head onto his jacket, which he'd made into a pillow. He took Shuichi's hand and squeezed it a little to wake Shuichi from his unconsciousness.
"I'll call an ambulance!" said Suguru. He pulled out his phone and immediately started dialing the hospital.
The singer's eyes only opened halfway. He was still bleeding profusely. Hiro was ripping of his sleeve to tie around Shuichi's arm to try and stop the bleeding there, but he wasn't sure about his abdomen…
"Yu…ki?" Shuichi asked. His voice had become even less than a whisper. Yuki brought his head closer and nodded.
"Yeah I'm here."
Shuichi managed a smile. "When I said I didn't mind a cheesy ending…" he coughed. A little trickle of blood streamed from his mouth, "I wasn't expecting this one…"
Yuki knew that he had to be strong for Shuichi right now, but he couldn't hold back tears. "Stop taking. You're hurting yourself."
Shuichi laughed. "I'm fine. I'm just happy that you still came to help me…even after I didn't listen to you."
Yuki smiled and wiped away some tears. "I couldn't let you go anywhere before I said 'I told you so.'"
Shuichi coughed again and more blood came out. Suguru returned and said the ambulance would be there in a few minutes. Yuki looked down at the boy. It was unlikely that he'd last five minutes.
"Yuki…I'm sorry about all this…" he said. The novelist shook his head. "It's my fault. I shouldn't have let you go with him."
The singer managed another small laugh. "Since when are things your fault?"
Yuki kissed Shuichi's hands. "Since I can't seem to protect you anymore."
Shuichi rubbed his lover's hand against his cheek. He clenched his teeth as he felt the pain growing in his abdomen. Yuki leaned down and kissed him on the head. "Just hang on. You'll be fine."
The singer looked down at his body, and than back at his lover. More tears flowed from his eyes. "I'm not so sure this time."
Yuki's smile faded. He couldn't tell Shuichi that he was probably right…it would kill him…
"Don't be stupid! The paramedics are going to be here any minute! They'll help you!" He leaned down and kissed Shuichi's lips, trying to comfort him. Unfortunately, Shuichi didn't have much power to kiss back.
Yuki was forced to pull back as Shuichi vomited up more blood. He coughed more and he was getting weaker by the minute.
Shuichi turned to Hiro. As his friend finished the bandaging, Shuichi thanked him. "Sorry about this Hiro…"
The guitarist quickly shook his head as water came down his cheeks as well. "No problem man." He had to turn away for a minute, just to wipe away the moisture.
"Yuki…Everything's blurry…" Shuichi said. He reached his hand out to touch his lover's face, but missed considerably. Yuki started to cry harder.
Shuichi was really being taken away from him, wasn't he?
Yuki kissed him again, helping the singer locate him. Shuichi tried to wrap his arms around Yuki's neck, but was suddenly finding it painful to lift his arms. He put them down and enjoyed the feeling of his lover for as long as he could.
When Yuki released, it was now official that Shuichi was running on his last reserves of strength.
"Heh…" laughed Shuichi almost inaudibly, "You go without crying for six years, and you meet me and you do it twice in the same year?"
Yuki rubbed Shuichi's hand. "Only for you."
It was quiet for a few seconds before Shuichi started talking again. "Yuki…" he said. The novelist had to bend hid head over Shuichi's mouth to hear him now. "…would you have done something like this for Yuki Kitazawa?"
Yuki was silent. He never lied to Shuichi, but he didn't want to upset him…
The singer breathed out happily. "It's written all over your face of course you would've."
Yuki tried to explain. "But, that doesn't mean anything! He was just…"
Shuichi smiled again. "Important to you?" he finished. Yuki looked away, ashamed of himself. Of course he would've done this for Kitazawa! He had been in love with him.
"I'm not angry about it…" Shuichi started, getting his lover to look at him again. "I just wanted to make sure…that I held a spot in your heart…"
Despite the pain, he reached for Yuki's face again and touched it.
"…just like Kitazawa did…"
As the water flowed out at its maximum speed, Yuki shook his head. "No…you've got a better place than him." He said. He was shaking, "You mean more to me…than he ever did…"
He touched Shuichi's cheek gently. "…or anyone ever will…"
Shuichi's smile didn't fade as he brought his hand back down. His tears were spilling out uncontrollably too. "Good."
Suguru, who had been watching the window like a hawk, suddenly yelled to the rest of them. "The paramedics are here!" he said. K rushed down the stairs with him to help the others get to the room.
Hiro watched them leave, and then turned back to Yuki and Shuichi. Yuki was still staring at the young boy, tears stains tarnishing his godly face. Shuichi was still smiling.
"Hear that?" said Yuki in a low voice to his lover. "The medics are here. I told you that they'd be here in time."
He waited for a reply from Shuichi, but none came. His face drained of emotion and color.
"Shuichi?" he said a little louder. The singer had closed his eyes, but he hadn't stopped smiling. Hiro, concerned, rushed over to them.
"Oh my God…" was all he could whisper.
"SHUICHI!" Yuki screamed. The paramedics suddenly barraged in, rushing over to the bloody bodies.
"WAKE UP DAMNIT!" Yuki screamed. But there was no reply.
As the paramedics rushed Shuichi and Kaneda's bodies out of the room, Yuki felt his head become increasingly heavy. The room started to spin, and he fell backwards onto the ground.
All went black.
A/N: First of all, I swear to God, as I was writing this scene, I was becoming suicidal (I'm a really emotional person).
And Second, there's only one more chapter. Just one. I have absolutely no idea how to continue the story anymore…
SO I'M GOING TO START MY HIROxK SPINOFF!!!! YAYNESS!!! (you know I couldn't stay depressed throughout the entire author's note, right?)
Anyway, until next time! And don't for get to review!
PS, the authoress who I've been quoting ( 'Ugh, I'm such a review whore'), her name is DemonSaya. She has AWESOME Inuyasha stories, and in the immortal words of the Crocodile Hunter, 'YOU'VE GOTTA CHECK IT OUT!'
PSS: can I have 10 reviews please? You could be telling me how much you hate me for doing this to shu, you could be telling me that you saw blades of glory last weekend, I DON'T CARE! Please just review!