Chapter 2

April 4th, 1997.

Shinya.

Shinya can't be any more tired. He yawns when he looks himself in the mirror, his delicate hands fall to his visual kei attire and flattens the black leather skirt that meets his thighs halfway up. His shirt matches the skirt; sleeveless so that he doesn't over heat. His hair is pulled up into a ponytail and elongated with dark auburn hair extensions that are curled. The light dusting of makeup on his face was done by his mother an hour prior; the foundation matches his skin and his lips are dark red, but it is just enough to combat the heat from outside and on stage. He leans towards the mirror and smiles, checking to see if any of the red lipstick has gotten on his pearl white teeth. He suddenly frowns and stands straight.

He takes a deep breath and shivers as he exhales. Butterflies fill the pit of his stomach, making him feel dizzy and a little nausea. Heero is going to be at the nightclub – of course he is. It is his place and he wants to hear them play. Shinya's not sure how to feel about this – Heero's eyes haunted him in his sleep and continued to plague his mind when they were practicing earlier in the day. He bounces in place, shaking his hands at his sides. He's never been this nervous before, not even when he first played live as a drummer in La: Sadie's before they disbanded. Is it Heero that makes me so wild up? Knowing he'll be playing for a leader of a Yakuza Family. Or was it because this might be their big chance in being seen? If they do good, they'd be able to play in bigger venues. There is nothing to be nervous about. Shinya reassures himself.

A soft bark comes from the bed behind him and when he twists he sees his little brown Chihuahua sitting on the plush white comforter of his futon. Miyu always makes him feel better. He takes a step over to the futon and pets the little pup on the head and kisses her tiny nose.

"You have to stay here."

Miyu barks once again. The sound isn't loud enough to patter Shinya's heart.

"Maybe next time." Shinya reassures.

The dog turns her head to the side and looks up at him with big brown eyes. Shinya knew he has to go now before he'd be guilt tripped by his own dog. He turns in his heeled black boots that rise to his mid-calf and walks to the front door while turning off the lights as he passes them.

The band is bound to be at the nightclub already; the clock clicks to 6 p.m. They needed the time to set up their equipment and maybe practice a song or two if there wasn't a band playing before them. Shinya isn't much help when it comes to setting up, he can't do much of the heavy lifting but he does help out with carrying the guitars.

He reaches for the door handle and sighs once again, shaking out the nerves that bunch up inside him and opens the door.

The alleyway isn't entirely dark yet even with the shadows of the buildings looming over him. But it is getting chilly out. Shinya crosses his arms to keep himself warm and walks faster. Noise comes from all over; from the bars and small restaurants to his left and the main roads on both sides of the buildings. The street lights flicker on just in time as he approaches the nightclub.

Booming music of Japanese rock shakes the reeds covering the windows of the nightclub. A line stretches from the entrance to a few buildings down the alley. They aren't wearing the Harajuku and club clothes they wore yesterday but instead heavier darker wear that Shinya sees in many Japanese rock fans. Heero must have somehow announced that a Japanese rock band would be playing tonight unless this is a normal day for rock music to play at the night club. Shinya doesn't see their white van they use to tote around their equipment, they must have parked in the back. He thinks it's weird how a nightclub is facing an alleyway instead of the main road and even stranger the name of the alleyway. Akuryō: evil spirit.

It sends chills down Shinya's spine. He looks over his shoulder at the darkening alley behind him but it is void of people. When he approaches the nightclub the same bouncer from yesterday is at the front of the line letting a couple of people in at a time. Shinya smiles meets the bouncer and does a small, nervous wave. The bouncer lifts a thick black brow and looks him over.

"What are you supposed to be?" the bouncer asks.

Shinya pauses and his auburn brows furrowing. "What do you mean?" He investigates himself as much as he can, seeing if by any chance he got something on him or wrinkled his clothes too much.

"I couldn't tell before either, but are you a boy or a girl?" Shinya finds it funny hearing the bouncer say this with his very deep voice, but frowns when he hears laughter coming from the line to his right.

"Shut up," the bouncer hisses at the crowd, and they quieten immediately, some even step back.

"I'm male, but my persona is supposed to be feminine." Shinya replies.

There is a brief silence between the thick muscled man and Shinya, but he doesn't feel awkward or uncomfortable being shadowed by the tall man. And tall he is. The bouncer has to be at least 6'5.

"Alright," the bouncer says, "go in."

"You're not going to check my name or band name?" Shinya questions, a little surprised.

"I saw you yesterday, and Heero already filled me in. Now get inside, the rest of your crew is already here."

Shinya doesn't hesitate; he walks to the sliding doors that quake from the heavy beat of the music coming from inside and heads on in when they glide open. The cool breeze coming from the air conditioning causes him to shiver. He crosses his arms closer to his chest and steps on through the small hall to the main room. There is a band playing on stage where the DH booth once was and there is a crowd jumping and pushing in the center of the main floor. Across the room he catches glimpses of Kaoru and Kyo when the crowd shuffles back and forth. They are carrying his largest piece of his drum set and place it by the stage.

A grin spreads across his face and he hops around the crowd to his friends. The feeling of nervousness seeps off him the nearer he gets to his bandmates, who greet him by waving.

"We're just about done!" Kaoru has to yell over the music.

Shinya nods and looks out the door to the main street; the white vans is parked against the sidewalk with its back doors wide open. There are a couple of guitars sitting by the back of the van where Toshiya and Die lazily stand. They are all dressed in visual key style clothing. Black in color and matching leather materials. All their hair is long with extensions that match their colored hair. Shinya steps outside and grabs one of the guitars with its stand, and walks back inside with it just in time for the music from the stage stops. It leaves a ringing in Shinya's ears that slowly subsides.

The singer of the band jumps down from the side of the stage nearest to them, barely missing Shinya's drum set when he lands. The singer bounds over to them with a grin. He's a half decent looking man, shirtless and sweaty with abs toned down his stomach. Long black hair sticks to his young face and his smiles shows his crooked teeth.

"Hey!" He says in between heavy breaths. His voice isn't anything special from what Shinya heard when he was singing or even now that he's talking. He's never seen him anywhere before either. They must be starting out as well – probably made a bargain with Heero. The vocalist's eyes fall on Shinya and widen for a second. "Wait, let me get that for you."

Before Shinya can object, the young man snatches the guitar and stand out from Shinya's arms and places it down by the drum set. Kaoru pats Shinya on the shoulder as he and Kyo exit the building to retrieve more equipment, leaving Shiny alone with this man. His full bottom lip pops out in a pout when they disappear outside with the door closing behind them.

My name is Ritchi Yūfukuna," the singer introduces. He approaches Shinya, putting out his sweaty right hand but before Shinya can take it, he rubs his palm on his black tight jeans, and then lifts it back up. "You can call me Yūfukuna."

Shinya slowly takes his hand; the vocalist's grip tightens around his thin fingers in a small shake. "Terachi Shinya, but people just call me Shinya." He tries to pull his hand away but Yūfukuna's grip tightens. After another second, he finally lets Shinya's hand go.

"Pretty name for a pretty boy," Yūfukuna compliments.

Shinya frowns at being called a boy, and is about to correct him when at the corner of his eyes, he spots Heero approaching them from around the crowd. The two guards who were at the upstairs door yesterday, follow close behind him. Part of him is excited and happy to see the dark, dangerous man but the other part has his nerves kicking in.

Heero is wearing a similar garb to what he was wearing yesterday. Another black tank to show off his muscles and tattoos and a pair of black jeans similar to Yūfukuna, but they are baggy around his legs. When the dark man approaches, Shinya bows and only rises when he hears Heero speak to him.

"You must be…." Shinya has to crane his neck to look at the Yakuza leader now that he's standing before him. He must be at least 6'5 tall which is impressive for a Japanese man. Heero lifts a finger and waves it at Shinya, clearly trying to think, the expression on his face gives it away but it lightens up the sharp edges of his visage. "Shinya."

The way his deep voice says his name has his heart pounding in his chest like a hummingbird. How'd he know his name? Did the guys give it away?

"Y-yeah." He can't help himself from stuttering.

"Ah, the drummer of the band. Glad I got it right. Are you ready for tonight?"

Shinya nods silently, biting his plump lower lip and stopping, realizing he may mess up his lipstick. He wipes his teeth with the bottom of his hand just in case.

Heero chuckles, a deep hearty sound. "Your lipstick is still good."

"Thank you," Shinya replies.

Heero smirks, he pulls out a cigarette from his back pocket and brings it to his lips. He lets it hang there as he glances at Yūfukuna. The singer stands straight next to Shinya, his eyes lowered so not to look the Yakuza leader in the eyes.

"Don't you know smoking is bad for you." Shinya states without thinking. His light brown eyes widen when he realizes what he has done. His heart skips in his chest.

Heero raises a black brow when he looks back down at Shinya, their eyes meeting. Shinya isn't sure what Heero is going to do? Yell at him? Deny his name access to the nightclub? He shouldn't have opened his mouth – this man is superior to him and very dangerous.

"You don't say?" Heero takes the cigarette from his lips and pushes it back into his back pocket of his jeans.

At the corner of Shinya's eyes, he sees Yūfukuna's expression is one in shock.

"Sorry," Shinya mutters so quietly it may not be heard.

But Heero manages to hear him. "No, thank you for the advice." Heero turns slightly to his left and waves towards the crowd, "Do you want a drink before you play? Lessen the nerves?"

"No, I don't drink."

"I bet you'd be a funny drunk," Heero snickers, "But okay. I see, you don't smoke or drink. Living a life of healthy rituals."

Heero turns in his shoes, stuffing his hands in his pockets and just as he's about to walk away Shinya finds himself stepping forward with his hand out towards him. This catches the guard's attention, and they move in between the two. Heero pauses with a look of confusion.

For just a millisecond Shinya feels his cheeks heat up and butterflies fill his stomach. He's not sure what to say or why he even moved to begin with. He knows he doesn't want to be alone with Yūfukuna, and he could just go outside with his band, but his body is telling him otherwise.

"A-are you going to be listening from here or up there?" Shinya quickly points up at the second floor window.

Heero looks at his two guards, that look over their shoulders to him. The Yakuza leader nods his head – an unheard order – and they move out of the way so he can see Shinya fully. His cool black eyes that haunted Shinya's mind, linger over Shinya's body from head to toe, causing Shinya to shiver under his curious gaze.

"Which would you prefer?" Heero asks.

"You'll hear our music better if you're down here. We work really hard on our music, it'd be nice if you heard us fresh and not muffled." Shinya stands straight and confidently, placing both hands intertwined in front of him.

"As you wish." Heero smirks again, and without another word, or pause form Shinya, the Yakuza leader disappears around the crowd.

Shinya places a hand to his chest to catch his beating heart. As you wish. He can feel his entire body heating up and fans himself, taking deep, long breaths.

"You okay, Shin-chan?" Yūfukuna asks. "I know Heero can be intimidating."

Shinya freezes in place when he hears the way Yūfukuna says his name. Shin-chan was reserved for only people really close to him, and even hardly then, did they call him that. He slowly glances over to Yūfukuna and bites his bottom lip once again. This time not caring if he gets any lipstick on his teeth. He has to hold back from saying anything and tries to focus on the conversation Yūfukuna started.

"Do you know anything about him?" Shinya asks.

"No, he's a pretty secretive guy. Plus, he doesn't exactly talk to people he bargains with. Just business."

Shinya catches a glimpse of Heero walking up the stairs to the second floor, the two guards lingering behind him. If he doesn't talk to anyone he bargains with, how come he just came to talk to them?

The crowd roars, their hands either in the air and waving or on top of the stage clapping against the flooring. They've come to an end of their last song for the night. Kyo spreads out his arms and drops his head back towards the ceiling. They are all sweating – not even the air conditioning can cool them off after the concert they just had. The turnout was great, better than they were expecting for the size of the nightclub. Heero must have allowed the entire line of people to come in from outside.

Thinking of Heero, Shinya looks around the room from above his drum set. He hadn't gotten to look before because he was purely focused on playing, but he spots Heero behind the bar, his two guards at either end of the island with their hands intertwined in front of them. Shinya takes a deep breath to catch his fast beating heart, the adrenaline making him dizzy with joy and excitement. So, Heero was listening to them as they played. Shinya can't help but smile.

Die, Toshiya and Kaoru place down their instruments and walk off the edge of the stage by the stairs. Their vocalist follows slowly, dragging his feet but before he leaps down the stage, he turns and waits for Shinya. The drummer quickly stands up and follows, hopping down carefully with Kyo at his side. He pauses between the stairs and the bar and looks down at Kyo.

"I'll be up in a second. I want to talk to Heero." Shinya says, placing a hand on Kyo's shoulder.

Kyo's eyes narrow, glancing between Heero and Shinya, "Are you sure?"

Shinya's eyes fall on Heero who has turned his attention to the drummer. "Yeah. I am sure."

"Okay, be careful." Kyo slumps and walks up the stairs to the second floor.

Shinya walks up to the bar, placing both palms on top of the island and scooting his butt onto an empty stool.

"Thank you for watching."

"You're welcome, can I get you anything?" Heero asks, tipping back a glass of amber liquid.

"A water would be nice."

Yūfukuna pops up next to Shinya and leans against the bar with his left arm.

"You were wonderful." Yūfukuna says.

"Thanks," Shinya reaches out for the water Heero hands him, twisting it open and taking a long swig. He is exhausted but filled with energy at the same time. As much as he wanted to continue sitting there with the crowd dispersing behind him, he really didn't want to be around Yūfukuna. He turns in his stool and hops off, scurrying up the stairs to the second floor room. There are no guards standing in front of the sliding doors now, allowing Shinya to open them and walk in.

The band is sitting on the couch, except for Toshiya, who is lying spread out on the dark blue carpet.

"That was exciting," Kaoru breathes, resting his head back against the leather couch.

"Do you think he'll bargain with us now?" Die asks, leaning on his right hand that rests against the armrest.

Shinya takes a seat against the wall with the window, his legs stretched out in front of him. Luckily for the drummer, his feet don't hurt like the rest of his bandmates who have to stand to play. He kicks his black heeled boots together and looks up at bandmates.

"I don't know; I can't read the man's expression." Kaoru says.

"At least he actually listened to us play." Kyo chimes in, his voice cracks from the strain of screaming on stage.

Heero listened all because Shinya asked him too. He smiles to himself, 'as you wish,' rings in his mind. Maybe the Yakuza leader isn't as cruel as Shinya was making him out to be.

Shinya waves to his friends' goodbye as they drive off in their white van. They were all tired and shuffled putting the instruments in the car. They offered Shinya a ride but he wanted the fresh air, and he lives a walking distance away. He opens the door and goes inside, the only person left in the desolate club is the janitor, who is left cleaning the dance floor with a broom. Even Heero left an hour ago, not giving the band a heads up on when the next concert would be or if there would even be one.

Shinya heads out the front entrance and freezes when he sees Yūfukuna standing by the bamboo gate that surrounds the building except for the front entrance. The vocalist has his hands dug deep into his pockets and he's leaning forward like he's cold. Shinya slowly steps back, trying to reach for the sliding door but Yūfukuna catches sight of him and smiles.

Shinya drops his hand and gives in. He can't be rude to someone who's only been nice to him. He hesitantly walks away from the entrance and into the alleyway. It's dark and empty except for the street lights.

"I want to walk you home, it's pretty dark out." Yūfukuna says.

Shinya really didn't want anyone knowing where he lives. He's much like Heero in the department of secrecy. He raises his hand to object but stops when he hears heavy footsteps coming from down the alley in the direction Shinya needs to go. Yūfukuna hears it too, and both snap their heads in the direct but only find darkness.

The footsteps get louder and louder, approaching them.

Yūfukuna backs up next to Shinya and gently grabs Shinya's right arm, tugging him backwards, but Shinya doesn't budge. His eyes search the darkness for the person who's responsible for the sound, hoping that it may just be some teenagers fooling around. Though, that would be much better – the teenagers around here are thugs who didn't know any better or didn't follow any rules. The Yakuza have hard time controlling these thugs, trying to keep them from breaking and entering or sexually assaulting victims.

But nobody walks under the street light nearest to them. Shinya finally takes a single step back.

"Come on," Yūfukuna orders. But Shinya brushes off his hand.

Suddenly something flickers in Shinya's view, and right before their eyes a chunky figure forms. It is translucent at first, but starts to form a solid shape. The man is tall. Tall as Heero and is wearing a thick red samurai armor, including a kabuto (samurai helmet), and half an oni mask that covers just his lower face. The man doesn't belong in this time with the way he's dressed. He's facing the building to the left, his right hand resting on the tip of the handle of his katana. He's very structured, like a statue.

"Shin-chan," Yūfukuna whispers urgently.

This causes the samurai to slowly turn his head in their direction. Shinya's stomach drops. The samurai's eyes are black as Heero's but this man – he isn't Heero. There is something very off about this man. Very dangerous. Dangerous as Heero, or maybe, more so.

The samurai clicks his katana out of its sheathe and slides it out so that the blade makes a metal sound against the sheathes wooden material. He changes stances into one that looks like he's about to charge. He makes a loud grunting sound and then charges, sword at his side and ready to slice.

Shinya and Yūfukuna bolt down the alleyway as fast as their feet can take them. Hopping over trash that has been sprawled out across the pavement. The sound of heavy footsteps running behind them echoes off the walls of the buildings. Whoever it is, is fast for someone wearing that bulky type of armor.

Shinya can hear the steps so close that he is sure the Samurai is on top of him, but when he glances over his shoulder at the chasing man, he's a good few feet away.

The main road is just up ahead, and on the other side of the main road is the river. Shinya isn't sure what he should do, but his blood runs quick and his heart panics in his chest. His lungs begin to ache and his feet burn from the running. He can feel something clogging up his throat.

"Don't stop!" Yūfukuna yells.

This is the only time Shinya was going to listen to Yūfukuna – of course he isn't going to stop. That'd be suicide. When they reach the border of the main road Yūfukuna pushes Shinya to the right in front of the building and jumps to the left on the other side. Out from the alley comes the Samurai, who doesn't stop running until he's in the middle of the road. A car is about to crash into him but before it does, right before Shinya's eyes, the Samurai fades away to nothing.

Shinya's eyes widen at the sight, or lack of. He leans against the wall of the building he ran around, stabling himself before his legs could give out.

"Are you okay?" Yūfukuna asks between breaths. "S-should we report this?"

"Who would believe us?" Shinya mutters, his eyes still lingering where the Samurai had disappeared.