Chapter 14

Unlikely Allies

On February twenty-seventh, Bad Luck made Aomori news headlines.

They performed to, as usual, a sold-out concert venue. They attended various promotional events, CD signings and other guest appearances. The group also stopped by a school and addressed a music class to talk about composing and inspiration. They jammed with a few students, went out for drinks. Simply, they were on everyone's lips.

Amongst the roadies, another talk was circulating about the new tentative friendship between Yuki Eiri and the band's lead singer. Knowing the history, most disapproved, but they were slowly being won over. They could see how the little singer was making an effort, getting the stoic writer to smile. Shuichi was just such a sweet soul like that, they all knew it. In a way, there wasn't anything else they could have ever expected of him. He was always doing nice things because it was second nature to him. Was that not what they loved him for?

'The Group': K, Bad Luck, Sakano, Jubilee, Katsuya and Eiri were always together now. They spent every day busy together at commitments or sightseeing, and every night at friendly, noisy dinners.

Quickly, it dawned on the rest of The Group that Eiri was playing guardian angel. He shadowed the singer like a bodyguard, watching out for him, sometimes helping him with his day. The novelist made sure the singer ate properly, went to bed on time, and brought the boy back to his room when he'd had a few too many drinks. Eiri made certain the group got to their appointments, even occasionally driving them when a roadie could not be spared to chauffeur them around. Within a week, by the concert in Hokkaido, he had taken the responsibility over completely.

The novelist also played nice with Hiro and Suguru, supplying the former with cigarettes and discussing politics and business with the latter. He even chatted with Shizune, Jubilee's lead singer, about his books. He was polite to the rest of Jubilee and the roadies, as well.

He made an effort, initially not because he wanted to but because it was important to Shuichi. But, bit by bit, it was rather… nice. These people were not as 'old' and jaded as his own friends. It was too soon to really tell, but he thought he might actually like these people. In any case, he respected them, got along with everyone and things settled nicely; Yuki Eiri became one of them.

And Eiri liked it.

"I think I'm drunk," Shuichi complained, ruining the effect by suddenly letting out a giggle. Eiri had taken them out to a Sapporo Brewery pub on their last night in Hokkaido, hours after their late afternoon concert on the second of March. "But this stuff sure tastes good…"

"That'll have to be your last glass," Eiri decided for him, sipping from his own pint glass. A little while later, they left to take a long walk out to Odori Koen, a garden which split Sapporo City into two halves. It was quiet and cool, there were few people out tonight and they were almost alone…

"It's nice to spend time with you," Shuichi declared, speech a little slurred. "We didn't get to do this much before, you know?"

"Yes, it is nice," the writer agreed readily enough. He was much more sober and therefore very aware of the twinge in his heart, at Shuichi's innocent hint at their turbulent past. He had never seen Shuichi tipsy like this before the tour, despite that there had always been a supply of beer in the house when they'd lived together. He admitted, "I didn't know you drank, actually."

"Oh! Yeah," Shuichi grinned happily. "I don't drink too often since it's bad for my voice. Mostly, I just drink when there is an occasion to."

"What is the occasion tonight?" Eiri reached out to steady the boy when he appeared to stumble a little on the uneven ground.

"Tonight?" He looked relaxed and unself-conscious as he blurted, "It's an occasion because it's just the two of us. It could almost be a date except we're not a couple, but I guess we can call it… making up for some lost time." He looked up and smiled guilelessly at the writer.

"Lost time, eh?" Yuki stupidly repeated. Liquor seemed to have the same effect on the little singer as truth serum. He hesitated a moment, it could be a breach of trust to pry a little into Shuichi's feelings for him in this state. He asked, "Would you like to go out on proper a date with me?"

"No, thank you," Shuichi quickly but politely replied. "Not that I don't want to, but it would be kind of awkward."

"Why 'awkward'?" Eiri prodded softly. "I would like to take you out."

"And I would like to be taken out," the singer admitted, looking up at the stars. Pain twisted his features for a moment before he said, "But what we had, Eiri, is over. That is that."

The writer forced himself not to push the topic, not wanting to put Shuichi in a bad mood by pressing the matter. The last time he had gone too far Shuichi had run away from him in tears. The air had cleared since then, and he did not want a repeat of that day. Mostly, he didn't want to disrespect his new friendship with the singer by abusing the boy's alcohol-induced honesty.

"I can… respect that," Eiri had told the boy. For now, he silently added.

The next day, most of the crew were to fly back to Tokyo for their mid tour break.

The roadies would be driving from North Japan down to their next venue, a midway point of the country near Tokyo before they all continued on with the second half, now down toward the south of the country. So far, nothing had broken down, no one had fallen ill and things were moving smoothly along.

At the airport shop, Eiri was contemplating buying himself a book. The ridiculously limited selection had very few of his favourite authors, and he frowned until he suddenly spotted Shuichi. The singer walked in, snagged what appeared to be a random book and went to purchase it. Curious, the writer sidled up and asked,

"Shuichi, do you even know what you're buying?" Shuichi jumped, startled, then glared at the writer.

"Do you think I just buy things randomly?" He retorted. "My parents did teach me frugality and buying economically, you know."

"Well, what is that?" Eiri was very interested in seeing the cover of the thick yellow paperback which the singer clutched to his chest.

"It's 'Blood and Gold', by Anne Rice," Shuichi replied, stepping up to pay for his selection.

Eiri had not read any of Anne Rice's work, but he knew she wrote fantasy novels. His curiosity was now more roused by the singer than the mediocre selection. Feeling a little nosy, he followed Shuichi back into the waiting lounge and sat across from the boy.

"Since when--" he cut himself off. He didn't want to create an opening for Shuichi to remind him of something else Eiri had not noticed about his lover over the two years they had been together. The singer didn't really try to rub it in, and usually did not rise to opportunities to remind him, but he noticed such slips tended to make Shuichi sad. He tried again, "Have you always liked Anne Rice's work?"

"Yep!" Shuichi said, settling into his seat where, because he was so small, it appeared to swallow him up. He glanced around quickly, as though to see if anyone was listening, then leaned forward and said, "She writes dark things, sensual stuff I could never imagine. It's almost… dangerous. I love it." He sat back and smiled a little.

"I would never have thought you'd like dark themes," Eiri leaned forward, too, not wanting Shuichi to brush the topic away so soon. "You dress in so many colours and you seem to always be so cheerful. It doesn't seem like you." He avoided bringing up Bad Luck's most recent songs. Those had been dark songs, reflecting anger and hurt. To initiate such a conversation would only push the boy away.

"Everyone needs a little balance to offset things in their lives," Shuichi declared, "Even me."

"I suppose so." He considered if he himself had balance in his life and almost immediately decided that it had been the little singer who had balanced him. It wasn't a hard conclusion to arrive at. He asked, "Does it translate over well into Japanese?" and wondered which version he might buy to have a peek into Shuichi's interest himself.

"Not too well, I'm told," the boy admitted. "Apparently, a lot of the nuances that make the story as specific as it was written are lost in translation. In this case, it's a shame Japanese as a language is so implicit."

"I think that is probably why I like English so much," Eiri admitted softly, half to himself, cradling his chin in a propped hand on the table. He decided he would buy the book in English. "The selection of words with which to say precisely what you mean is rather vast."

"But English itself is such a young language," snorted Shuichi, "Japanese was around for many eras and Chinese is so much older--"

"Not quite so." Eiri told the singer. "Well, English originates mostly from Latin which dates back earlier than Japanese, though not as far as Chinese. In any case, Latin is... not so implicit for its age. And quite a few other languages were born from it across Europe. It's why some words from different countries in Europe might be very similar and mean the same things though the languages, on the surface, seem so different."

"I suppose that is so. But its so hard to learn. I still prefer Japanese, though I just would have expected it to be a lot more specific considering the history of this country," Shuichi said, warming to the topic. "Language evolves because of change, like conflict and sometimes even from something as simple as weather changes. One would think that Japan, an island so isolated, having four distinct seasons and with the history it does, would have a much more diverse vocabulary."

Shuichi frowned, then continued, "Think of all those rainforests where tradition and way of life are so similar to the way it was hundreds of years ago because there was nothing to force change; where even the weather is temperate all year round. Japan by comparison, has had so much opportunity to evolve, yet has not really seemed to have done as much as it could have."

Eiri and Shuichi proceeded to argue on the changes of language and expression, and the factors that drive the change or development in communication.

The writer felt at ease making these arguments, they weren't familiar topics between him and the little singer but the conversation still flowed. Shuichi didn't know as much as he, and he still had to explain a few things. But the singer made a few clever arguments, taking a conservative anthropological outlook on matters while Eiri took a more modern psychological view. Conversation flowed easily between them, two intelligent adults who were each successful in their own right, and who each had very interesting perspectives.

Later on, when they both sat back to mull over things the other had said, Eiri realised he had missed this. He remembered spending time with Shuichi at his favourite coffee shop in Harajuku (1) where they'd often argued about writing and self-expression. Judging from this current conversation, those arguments back then had really only just scratched the surface of the level of conversation Shuichi might carry.

Written word and poetry, then by consequence literature itself, had become something of an obsession for him since Eiri had always made a habit of insulting his lyrics. The singer was not as well educated, that was obvious, but he absorbed details like a sponge.

Eiri felt a little embarrassed to admit he had not originally thought of his lover as a true equal, now slowly understanding Shuichi to be a less simple individual than he'd originally thought. The little singer had always been interested in how to make his music better, improve and grow. It would make sense his interests would expand, that he'd explore a little. Just because the kid had not been good at school did not mean that the singer was stupid.

Suddenly, Eiri realised that he had been guilty of dismissing the boy.

It had been his mistake, not looking deeper into the hidden complexities, not making true effort in learning about his own lover. In hindsight, he should have realised there was more to Shuichi than the j-pop singer façade. It had just been easier to shrug the boy off.

So he'd been fooled… No, he had allowed himself to be fooled. And he felt damn silly about it.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Shuichi asked. His brows furrowed with both worry and hesitant curiosity.

"I was just thinking that," Eiri was careful to choose his words, but spoke honestly, "how much fun I'm having getting to know you now. I realise there is a lot more to who you are than I had given you credit for."

Shuichi flushed, looking a little surprised. He looked away.

"I apologise," Eiri said, holding his hand out to the boy. Shuichi reached over immediately and clasped the writer's hand back.

"It's alright," Shuichi smiled. "We have all the time in the world to get to know each other now." But then the smile suddenly fell off his face.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing I can't handle," Shuichi said, pulling his hand back. His face smoothed out into an expressionless mask, posture curling inward self-protectively. He pointedly opened his book and began to read, dismissing the conversation.

Damn it.

Just when he thought that he was making significant progress with the singer, something would come up and ruin the moment. His hand tingled with the memory of where Shuichi had touched him; he missed it already. He wanted to know what was wrong so that he would not unwittingly drive that touch away.

Later that same day, Eiri arrived in his apartment, this spacious place where there was no one to welcome him home.

He considered getting a cat, an independent creature which might at least provide some amusement by not losing glaring matches. The rascal might even keep him grounded, by keeping the writer on the receiving end of indifferent affection.

Chuckling at his own musings, Eiri shook his head. He figured he owed his strange humour to lack of companionship, of being alone with his thoughts so often. When the brat had lived with him, they would talk often. It didn't matter if it was just to argue about how 'stupid' Shuichi was, and sometimes they'd talked about whatever book he'd been in the process of writing. And, cohabiting with someone else to consider forced Eiri to think about other things and not just himself.

He felt incredibly alone now that the boy was gone; more so now having had a taste of how interesting Shuichi could be.

As he made his way to NG for a late afternoon press conference, he thought about the previous week when he and Shuichi had made up. He recalled how the singer had looked so cute up close; he had forgotten how cute Shuichi was. He had not been that near the singer since… that confrontation at the Hotel Intercontinental, just after the Valentine's Day concert. That night, tending to the injured singer, had been jarring.

At the conference, the reporters seemed excited to see him. There were fewer disapproving expressions now than the last time he'd appeared before them. Steadily, since he and Shuichi had mended bridges and were 'back' to being friends, the press and public had been warming up to him. His publishing company had even reported that the threat-count was back to a lower, sensible level, and that they no longer received cursed charms in with the morning post.

"Where will you be spending your mid tour break?" asked one reporter. "Will you remain in Tokyo or leave the city to visit your families?"

"You are the last people on earth we would tell!" Eiri told her sternly, mock frowning. The reporters, especially the female ones, twittered.

"Have there been any more incidents since that at the Hotel Intercontinental?"

"None," he told the rude little reporter. There had been tabloid photos of the former couple talking and laughing, of spending time together within The Group on tour. The Jubilee band, in an earlier press conference, had even admitted that 'the great Yuki Eiri' had pitched in as a chauffeur when the roadies had been a little too busy.

Suddenly, he realised that Shuichi had also spoken at the same time. They shared a small smile and the cameras flashed madly.

"Your jaw appears to have healed nicely, Yuki-sama," Kaoruko said, that nasty reporter woman who'd been a big supporter of ASK, her eyes flashing nastily. Silly woman seemed interested only in stirring up trouble.

"Yes, it appears it has." This time, when Eiri frowned at her, it was genuine.

Eiri vividly recalled how Shuichi had looked with his own beaten and bruised jaw, clutching an ice compress. When a small trickle of the melting ice had made its way down his arm and Shuichi had licked it up, Eiri's body had violently reacted to the sight of that warm wet muscle. It had no less than floored him! It had been agony when the singer had looked innocently up at him, truly worried by his sudden stillness… Gods, it had taken all his self control to stop from bending over and seizing those soft lips with his own.

"So you've really 'kissed and made up'?"

"Next question!" Eiri growled. He missed Shuichi's kisses. Missed the boy's tenderness in general, missed… Argh.

There were too many things he missed. He had unconsciously become attached to the singer, had allowed the boy to become a big part of his life. It was stupid to keep repeating it to himself, but he did anyway: He had been very stupid to ruin what he'd had.

But he did not tell the press that.

And he would be damned if he did not get it back.

"It's great to be home!" said Hiro, rocking his seat back onto the two rear legs, arms stretched above his head.

"Don't tempt me…" warned Tatsuha, eyeing him across the conference table with a nasty glint in his eye. The guitarist realised how easy it would be to give his chair leg a quick nudge from underneath the table. He resettled his seat quickly, prematurely cutting off the pleasurable stretch.

"Quit behaving like idiots," Suguru muttered at them absently from Hiro's left, attention absorbed by his current music book in which he was jotting his latest ideas.

Hiro, Suguru, and Tatsuha were waiting for Mika and Yuki to join them in the Bad Luck conference room. It was a bright day on the fourth of March, the day after they had arrived in Tokyo. Today was, aside from being the band's first day of vacation, the first day that they were to include Yuki in their campaign to right Shuichi's problem –whatever it was.

"Remind me again why I'm wasting a day of my vacation waiting for the great Yuki-sama to make his appearance," muttered Hiro, casting a glare over at the door.

"I'm just as displeased as you are that Mika is dragging him into this," Suguru replied, just as softly. "But please be practical! Ever since K…"

The crazy American had told them all to mind their own business; that they would only make matters worse by forcing the issue instead of waiting for the little singer to come tell them when he was ready to talk. Suguru did have to admit that while K had a point, he also knew Shuichi would not ask for help unless he was close to breaking. This usually meant dealing with a shattered Shuichi and watching that magnificent light within his singer dim further.

He would much rather, and both Hiro and Tatsuha agreed with him on this, take counter measures and damage control now than deal with a big mess later. Believing this was a step in the right direction, Suguru was determined to follow this through.

"Yeah, yeah…" said the guitarist dismissively. He was being mule-headed and Suguru disliked it.

"You know," the keyboardist murmured, "I may regret saying this, but I think Shuichi and Yuki patching things up is actually a good thing." Tatsuha looked over at him, curious and concerned. "With things being so good between them, even if it has only been for a little over a week, Shuichi seems a lot less stressed."

"I agree," said Hiro, but his tone was rather grudging. "But just because they are good friends…" Though his band mate let his words drift, Suguru knew exactly what the guitarist meant. Just because Yuki and Shu were good friends, did not mean that they were going to or needed to patch up their romantic relationship.

That was something they could both agree on. In this case, beyond asking Shuichi if he was sure about what he was doing, neither of them had pressed the singer into telling them more about his intentions with this 'friendship'.

"But just because they are good friends, what?" Tatsuha prodded, looking back and forth between them.

"None of your business," The two replied at the same time. Tatsuha huffed and sat back.

Suguru went back to musing, thinking back to when Yuki-san had talked to Hiro asking after Shuichi again. The guitarist had obliged the man civil conversation, as his way of thanking the writer for helping Shuichi. Eventually, over drinks, and with the little singer either blushing profusely or laughing uproariously, Hiro spilled a few nostalgic snippets of the past he shared with his best friend. Suguru had found them all immensely entertaining, and the tales had served as a bit of band bonding.

Admittedly, Yuki fit in with them now; they had accepted him. Day to day, things were alright, but anything more than that was a trial of their patience. Suguru felt setting his personal feelings aside would benefit Shuichi best. The guitarist, on the other hand, was being… mule-headed. So, on top of having one very distant singer, he had a pissed off guitarist, a pesky Tatsuha, a disapproving gun-toting American, and… As if on cue, the conference room door slammed open.

"Where is K?" Mika demanded, marching in with Yuki in tow. The writer looked a little cross.

"Not here," Tatsuha and Suguru replied simultaneously, and they shared a small grin.

"So long as he doesn't mess things up for us," Mika muttered, strutting her way to the head of the conference table. "I actually don't care where he is." She took a seat, flipping her hair over her shoulder, and crossed her elegantly long legs.

"I am not certain he should be here, anyway," Suguru agreed, "Considering his contribution to the incident at the Hotel Intercontinental."

"Just to be clear," Hiro put in bravely in a firm tone of voice, standing up as he gave Mika a hard stare, "I am not of the opinion that getting them back together is the best idea." He tilted his head briefly at Yuki.

"You only want to help Shuichi," Yuki cut in. He looked annoyed, but his voice was calm. Tatsuha glowered at the guitarist, who paid him no mind.

"That's right," Hiro said, looking over at the writer who calmly took a seat next to his brother.

"Is the problem that you don't want us back together or do you just not want to work with me?" the writer prodded.

"Just you," Hiro snorted shortly. "I don't know what your motives are." He inclined his head politely though his eyes blazed.

"WE don't know what your motives are," Suguru interjected, briefly glancing up at Yuki before looking back down at his notebook to write some more.

"I want to help," Yuki told them, holding up a hand to Mika who'd been about to speak. "My motives are my own. And I will not waste time trying to prove my sincerity when we could be spending our time at more useful pursuits. So which is greater, your suspicion of me or your concern for Shuichi?"

"There isn't a competition there," Hiro sat back down.

"I am glad there is not," Yuki said, politely.

"I don't care if you are glad or not!" The guitarist hissed testily.

Quietly, Yuki said, "I am simply saying that I admire your affection for him." Hiro glared at Eiri, too disbelieving to even be shocked.

"You do truly care for him," Suguru was watching the writer carefully, expression calm. He'd finally pulled his attention away from his music book. "I now believe so, having watched you interact with Shuichi over the past week." Hiro and all three Uesugi siblings glanced over at the little synth-master.

"I have known you for some time now," Suguru mused, "Since you came back with Tohma-san from America, and I have never seen you as I recently did."

"Exactly!" Mika said triumphantly. "That is because he has truly changed."

"More so than any of you think or believed possible," Tatsuha added softly.

Hiro snorted. "Well, you two are obliged to protect your precious brother so it is not surprise to hear you defending him." Mika rolled her eyes and reclined in her seat, leaving her brother to fight his war while she examined her manicure. "But I am disappointed that you are disregarding what he has done to Shuichi; what it was that started this whole mess in the first place."

"It is not that we are disregarding it," Tatsuha snapped, "Just that we, unlike you, have talked to Eiri about this and heard his side of the story."

"Let me guess," Hiro sarcastically said, "He's sorry, has seen the errors of his ways and is now hell bent on making it up to Shuichi? Please!"

"You're really beginning to annoy me," the young monk snarled, getting up out of his seat, placing both hands on the table and leaning across the table into the guitarist's face.

"Oh, come on!" Also standing, Hiro faced the youngest Uesugi fearlessly. "You have no interests in this than to get them back together!"

"What?!"

"Even back with that fiasco with Yuki's engagement to Ayaka, all you thought about was how good Shuichi was for your brother!" Hiro accused, "You know nothing about Shuichi! You probably just want to use him in order to get closer to Ryuichi!"

Tatsuha was incredulous, "Is it really impossible for you to imagine that I've come to genuinely like him?"

"ENOUGH," Mika slapped a hand down on the table. Yuki rolled his eyes. "If the two of you cannot come together on the terms that we are all concerned for Shuichi then you can get the hell out!" Both boys sat down, glaring at each other across the table.

"Has anyone considered Shuichi is leaving for America for his after tour vacation?" Suguru said, eager to get the ball rolling and happy to distract Mika from her furious mood. He had seen Tohma do this countless times.

The Uesugis perked, surprised.

"America?" Tatsuha asked. At the same time, Mika and Yuki demanded in unison,

"Why?"

"He's going to do some networking with K and Tohma at a few music events and take English classes," Suguru replied. "He's been doing other non-Bad Luck work, reporting directly to Tohma, and wants to take things further. He has a lot of time on his hands now that…" Everyone heard the unspoken continuation – now that Yuki and he had broken up.

"I don't even know yet if we are celebrating his birthday before he goes," Hiro supplied, looking thoughtfully at the writer. "There's supposed to be a going away party after the last concert at the Hotel Intercontinental. They're holding it in conjunction with the tour-end celebration." He glanced at Yuki briefly. "That should make a ripe opportunity to insinuate yourself; you can try and convince him to stay."

"You don't have to make my brother sound like he is forcing himself into Shuichi's life," Tatsuha growled.

"Of course not!" The guitarist's sarcasm returned full force. It seemed Hiro was making arguments to simply rile the monk and not because he truly disked Yuki. "I mean, according to your precious brother it was Shuichi who was the train wreck in his life; but then, who's a complete mess without who now?"

"Quit picking on him!"

"Poor baby needs his little brother to protect him!"

"SHUT UP!" Yuki snarled at them both, beating Mika to the satisfaction. Suguru calmly noticed that Yuki appeared to have mastered the Evil Eye better than she anyway. Mika seemed to agree, settling down and obviously relishing the cringe the two interrupted combatants shared.

"I realise that you don't want me here," Yuki conceded. "But I am so deal with it!"Hiro was silent, surprised. Mika looked triumphant and Tatsuha was smug. Suguru looked at them all and hid a smile. Such a group of obstinate people…!

"You're just trying to relieve your own guilt," Hiro half-heartedly grumbled. Sitting back in his chair, looking like he knew he was beat. He huffed and silently looked away when Yuki gave him a hard look.

"I think," Suguru spoke up, smiling a little. "That we are all in agreement that Shuichi's best interests are our primary concern."

Mika nodded. "So now that we are all finally settling down, can anyone propose a reason as to why Shuichi would be so distant from all of us?"

"He's hiding something," Hiro reminded everyone.

"I think this is a ripe opportunity to gather what we do know of Shuichi's activities to date," Tatsuha announced.

"Let's start with what we all know about his schedule." Suguru pulled out a second notebook and opened it to a black page. He began to scribble in short-hand, and Yuki glanced approvingly and appreciatively at him.

They discussed a few things that everyone, at some point or other, had each already noticed. Things did not progress far with five people paraphrasing pretty much the same observations. They continued to compare notes anyway, cross-reference time stamps and Shuichi's supposed schedule. Things checked out.

It was getting frustrating.

At another stretch of silence, Hiro turned to Suguru with a sigh. "Have you got any vacation plans?"

Blinking, Suguru said, "I hadn't really thought about it. It's going to be different from vacations past, that's for sure."

"Yeah, at our past vacations Shu was either with us or him," Hiro jerked a thumb over at the writer.

"Do you guys spend ALL your time together?" Tatsuha asked, slumped over the table and looking incredibly bored.

"For the most part, yeah," Hiro shrugged. "And when we all moved in together, we jammed everyday." He smiled a little to himself. "I miss all those jam session we used to have in the studio at home. He's always so busy these days. Last I really spent significant time with him was when I was teaching him to play the guitar."

"He told me it was you," Mika smiled at him. "But he never told me when and why he learned."

"Shuichi wasn't allowed out of the house for a while last year," Hiro said, holding Mika's gaze. It was obvious he was resisting the urge to glare pointedly at Yuki. "He and I just jammed a lot at home. Until you took him away," he joked.

"He needed to get out," Mika flippantly replied. "We had such fun at a lot of events, when I needed to go and had no escort. Eventually, even if Tohma could go, Shuichi went with us anyway." She smiled, "How do you think his sense of style has been improving?"

"Taking credit for my efforts, are you?" Hiro joked back.

"Well, that is all in the past, though," Tatsuha said mournfully. "Now that he's back in Tokyo and on the loose, I'm think this is an opportunity we cannot miss to see what he's really up to."

"I am willing to maximise this effort," Mika announced.

"What do you mean by that?" Suguru wanted to know.

"Well, we need a thorough job done and we want to know everything," Mika explained. "So we hire a professional."

(1) Chapter 3: In His Eyes –Eiri talks about his relationship with Shuichi and what makes the singer happy. One of them is their regular visiting to Eiri's favourite coffee shop in Harajuku; name never mentioned.

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