I'm on a roll! Whoo!
Updating fast now, aren't I? Yes I am...
Am I a little too proud of this?
Perhaps...
But do I care?
Nopes ^-^
* Note: was down, so I couldn't post this earlier in the day... so...I'm sorry that your phone will alert you to the presence of this chapter so late at night T-T'
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Shinya groaned.
Yup...The couch was definitely not the most comfortable of sleeping areas in the house...
He sighed and glanced around the dark room, cracking his neck, eyes landing on the digital clock atop the television.
-11:30 pm- The clock blinked annoyingly.
He sighed and brushed his bangs out of eyes.
Well... he could at least let Tohma have a good night sleep and call him about Ryuichi...
He yawned and slid off the couch as he felt his way to the kitchen, stumbling in the dark.
Sleeping was starting to get hard for even him... Maybe insomnia was contagious...
'Damn Tohma...' he frowned.
Then he laughed...
"Poor Tohma though...he has this almost every night..."
He chuckled to himself, and groped the wall for the phone. He gave another long yawn before dialing Tohma's number.
To his surprise, it didn't even get to ring twice.
"HELLO!" Tohma sounded desperate, and Shinya grinned.
"Yes, Tohma, I'm glad to hear you voice too..."
Tohma groaned.
"Hello Shinya... I'm sorry for my lack of enthusiasm, but I was sort of hoping that you were someone else..." He sighed.
Shinya smirked.
"Would this someone have shaggy chestnut hair, bright blue eyes, and a strong tendency for having heavy mood swings?
"You've seen him!" Tohma asked, voice full of hope.
"Nope." Tohma gave a frustrated sigh. " Haven't just seen him. He's lying in my bed as I am forced to sleep on the couch." He laughed.
Tohma growled.
"You... you...damn... too tired, can't think of any good insults...but he's there? Oh thank god... Noriko got him so upset, and it just shocked me when he flew out the door. I searched everywhere I thought he could be... obviously I missed somewhere..." He sighed.
Shinya chuckled lightly.
"I suppose so... the park for future reference...But yes, he's here, and he's doing fine. Though I wouldn't be surprised if he came down with a cold... the rain was freezing and he was just sitting there in it..." Shinya gave a quiet yawn, " but, he should be fine. He said that Noriko was being horrible to him though... it seemed to really upset him."
Tohma groaned.
"Yes...she was... I have no clue as to what's gotten into her. She's been sore ever since I met Ryuichi. It's not fair for him, or for me... It's not like I don't know what I've gotten myself into."
Shinya sighed.
"Yeah, I know...It's such a big risk, but my opinion doesn't count of course. I like the guy though. Even if he is kind of...different..."
Tohma laughed lightly.
"Yes... I suppose he is, but he can't help it...the living conditions he was in..."Tohma smiled and glanced at the time. "You're lucky that I don't sleep..." He grumble seeing the clock, which now read 5 to midnight.
Shinya laughed.
"Well, I forgot to call earlier. Things happened too quickly, my mind was in a blur over the unplanned events. But yeah... I did just want to let you know that he was alright. Couldn't sleep over it I suppose. Just... come by and get him sometime tomorrow. Or have you forgotten where I live already?" Shinya smirked.
Tohma laughed.
"No, no I haven't..." he sighed. " Thank you... I wouldn't have slept without knowing... I'll see you both tomorrow then, good night."
"Night, Tohma..."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Ryuichi awoke the next morning to the most wonderful aroma he'd ever smelled in his life.
He yawned, and dropped out of the bed, shuffling towards the tempting smell as he held the wall for support during his un-awake walk towards the kitchen.
Upon his arrival into the room of food, he was immediately tackled to the ground by the younger three siblings. The event was followed by the loud laughter of Shinya from across the room.
"Sorry about them... they're a handful. Don't know when to stop trying to crush people..." Shinya sighed as Ryuichi struggled to free himself from the boys.
"Oh! It's alright! It was actually quite amusing."He smiled.
He finally wrenched himself free from their grasp and dashed to the table.
"Aww! You're no fun! Play before food Ryu! Play before food!" The youngest pouted as he sat down across from Ryuichi.
Ryuichi laughed nervously as the other two playfully glared at him.
"Oh grow up... Some people can't function without a meal first." Sano mumbled, shuffling into the room.
The boy rummaged through the cabinets, and then slowly poured himself a cup of tea.
Ryuichi decided that the teen ALSO did not function properly without food.
"Look, sorry Ryuichi-san... They're insane little freaks of nature..." He sighed, pulling his glasses out of his sweat pant's pocket. "But you can not blame them! They live to make people's lives a living hell, mine especially. They're children... But, we're all excited that YOU are taking our brother's place in Seguchi-sama's band! You seem to be a wonderful person, one that would make him proud. Seguchi-sama is a genius! You will all go far! And I have the glory of watching behind the side lines!" The teen smiled nervously as he sat down, then he glared at the other three boys in warning.
Shinya chuckled lightly as Ryuichi blinked in confusion.
"Oh... don't mind him... He's always been a... fan of Tohma's. He's a bit obsessive... but I'm sure you can understand." he sighed.
Ryuichi only giggled.
"No worries! I just wanna eat the food that smells so good!" He smiled, and Shinya grinned back before he walked over towards the stove and he began to dish out plates of food for everyone.
"Alright then, eat up!"
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Tohma groaned.
Even with the knowledge of Ryuichi's safety, he still hadn't slept for more than a few hours.
"I hate this..." he grumbled as he stepped into the large bathroom, grabbing the brush as he went.
He quickly tidied himself up, not bothering to shower as he quickly dressed and crawled out the door, starting on his quest of walking to Shinya's.
A hard task indeed for someone still half asleep...
After bumping into countless people, and apologizing frantically to them all, Tohma almost walked past the small shop to his right.
He paused and glanced threw the window, smiling in satisfaction at the large sign lingering in the door way.
Coffee.
He sighed and stepped into the small convenient shop and smiled as he realized that it was the exact same coffee shop he'd walked into the previous night. And as he made his way to the counter, the kind old woman looked up at him with hope.
"So young man... did you mange to find him?"
Tohma smiled and she sighed in relief.
"Yes, I've found him. He somehow ended up at my good friend's house." he sighed and sat down in the stool. "I'll have to get the full story once I see him."
"That's wonderful dear! I'm so happy for you! Where is he?" she asked, looking over his shoulder as if he were going to walk in the door any second.
"I'm going on my way to meet him right after I pump myself full of caffeine right here." he laughed nervously.
She smiled and immediately poured him a steaming cup of coffee.
"Well, tell him I've said hello when you finally see him, okay?"
"Sure thing. I'll do that." Tohma sighed and welcomed the warmth of the liquid sliding down his throat.
"One last thing however..." The woman leaned on the counter in front of Tohma.
Tohma raised an eyebrow.
"Sure thing..."
"Well, I'm curious... why exactly did he run away in the first place? He chose an awfully poor night to do so."
Tohma groaned as he was forced to think about the situation again...as if he hadn't dwelled on it ALL night...
"Well... as I said last night, my one friend doesn't seem to really like him, and she voiced her opinion of him, to his face... It really hurt him... He's been through so much in the past that he's really untrusting of people, and he kinda craves attention... Her not liking him really seemed to kinda crush him, especially when she's around me a lot." Tohma frowned and finished off his cup quickly.
The old woman smiled sadly.
" Seems as though he's just lonely... like he needs someone or something to hold on to at all times... Some people are like that. Take really young children for example. They all carry around some item that makes them feel secure. Wether it be a blanket, a stuffed animal, or a toy, it takes years sometimes for them to let it go. Some teens, and even adults are the same way. Heck, even I still hold something close to me, even if I don't bring it everywhere I go... I have a beautiful quilt that I refuse to sleep without." She laughed lightly as Tohma smiled.
"So... you're saying that I should get him something he can hold onto whenever he feels lonely?"
The woman smiled.
"Exactly."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Ryuichi smiled as he watched the three young children chase Sano around the living room, Shinya beside him contently reading a music magazine.
Shinya chuckled lightly as the doorbell rang and all three children seemed stopped in their tracks, all eyes on the front door
"That must be Tohma... Sano, can you get the door?" Shinya smiled, and the teen sitting across the room practically flew towards the door.
Ryuichi smiled nervously.
"Shinya? Was...was Tohma angry with me?" he murmured softly.
Shinya nearly laughed.
"Why would he be? You did nothing!" he sighed and looked up grinning as Sano returned, trailing closely behind Tohma, who seemed undisturbed by the teen's actions.
"Shinya, it's great to see you! How are you?" Tohma smiled, walking over to the two.
Shinya yawned.
"I'm good. A bit tired, but we all had a long night. So it's understandable..."
Tohma nodded.
"Yes, yes we have... I really would love to stay, but Ryuichi and I have a lot to discuss... as you probably figured. I hope you understand..." Tohma sighed.
Shinya nodded.
"I'm sure you do... Go ahead! He's all yours! It was great having him. Just warn me next time so I can get the guest room set up... the couch is murder..." He laughed lightly.
Ryuichi smiled weakly, and jumped at Tohma, wrapping his arms around his neck as he snuggled into it.
"I see that you missed me Ryu..."
Ryuichi chuckled and nuzzled the blonde happily.
"Mmmhmm..."
Tohma sighed and looked back to his ex-band mate.
"I'll be seeing you soon Shinya, I promise." Tohma smiled.
"You better!"
-x-x-x-x-x-x-
As the two walked home, the trip was fairly silent...
The worst thing about it all, in Ryuichi's opinion?
Tohma... was grinning...
Ryuichi wasn't completely sure, but he didn't think Tohma was mad...
But this...non-anger smile, was still a scary smile... even if not THE scary smile.
And it confused him.
Ryuichi sighed and stared at the grinning blonde in frustration.
He had done something, Ryuichi decided...
This something, if by past experience, could be great... or something utterly creepy...
Like... when he had gone back to school the next time after the Tanaka incident, and Tanaka had been kicked out of all sports... and then he was mysteriously failing math... ( even though he was a genius at it) and then... he had later opened his locker, only to be covered in frogs...
Tohma had been grinning then too when he had returned home...
Ryuichi had soon learned that revenge was just something Tohma-ish, and he was to dismiss it completely.
After all, Tohma was just paying the people who made him miserable back...
And to Ryuichi, that was fine...
Now, this smile, was something...something new...
It was more of a... well, proud smile... as if he had accomplished something great.
Ryuichi frowned.
He was getting himself way too curious for the current situation...
Suddenly, without warning, Tohma placed a hand on his shoulder... and due to him being in such deep thought, Ryuichi...well...panicked...
"Neeh!" He yelped, flying backwards.
Tohma's eyes widened, and he reached out in hopes to catch Ryuichi, but it was not to be. He landed in a heap, on his ass, sprawled on the sidewalk.
Tohma stifled back a giggle, and reached down to help the him up.
"Is there something wrong, Ryuichi?" Tohma raised an eyebrow.
After all, the teen had been so deep in thought, he hadn't even heard him trying to speak to him...
Ryuichi's eyes narrowed.
"What are you plotting! You look all evil when you're plotting... You're plotting!" Ryuichi accused, pointing his finger at the blonde.
Tohma chuckled.
"You'll just have to wait and see...now won't you?"
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What on Earth could Tohma have done?
Well, we'll all just have to wait until next chapter to find out, ne?