Author's note: ACK! I'm writing so slowly! And everyone keeps
interrupting me!!! (Ironically enough school is actually preventing me
from reading and writing... ^_^;;; Go figure. Crayon Maps 6 is near
completion....I just haven't been in a romancy mood...apologies...)
Fade - A Lifetime Misplaced
Phase Two: Blisters
-------
He couldn't remember. He just couldn't remember. Yuki. Where did that name come from?
Shuichi's two violet eyes were staring at, quite possibly, the most handsome man they had ever seen. Like a sponge, they absorbed the sight - a sexy, blonde-haired, golden-eyed man, wearing sophisticated attire and a devil-may-care look strewn across his face. Shuichi was taken back in awe. For some reason he felt like he should be bowing down at this Yuki- person's feet, but thankfully he didn't take the opportunity. Now was most certainly not the time for more embarrassment.
Yuki stood up and approached the young man who had so thoughtlessly spoken his name. "Don't tell me a punk like you knows how to read books." A puff of smoke drifted over the pink mop of hair.
Confused, Shuichi locked eyes with the blonde man. "My name is Shuichi and I'm not a brat!" He paused and thought for a moment. "You're a writer?"
An annoyed Yuki ignored the question and looked down with an air of arrogance. "Hmph. I didn't think you did."
The response was immediate. "Hey! Just because I've never heard of you doesn't mean I don't read!" With hands fisted and cheeks blushing, Shuichi was prepared to argue in his own defence when the man pulled a wallet from his jacket pocket and extracted several bills. Handing them to the café manager, Yuki ignored the teen's questioning glares as he spoke. "This kid is worthless. Just take this to cover the damages."
"Wha...hey!" Shuichi interrupted. "I didn't ask for your help. Stop trying to act so cool! How do you know I can't afford it? Maybe I'm rich! Maybe I'm...."
It was too late. Without even a second glance Yuki was heading out the door and onto the sunlit street.
Cursing under his breath Shuichi looked up at the pudgy man beside him who had just become eighty dollars richer. And, seeing a questioning glance from the young literate-punk the fat man spoke. "You heard the man, you're off the hook," he said, holding the cash in sweaty palms while grinning. "I don't know what kind of guy would shell out that kind of cash just to bail out a kid like you, but you sure got lucky."
Shuichi cringed and turned away from the annoyance. The audacity of that Yuki guy! Just paying and leaving like that, embarrassing Shuichi in front of everyone. If only his ankle didn't hurt so much, and if only Yuki wasn't so damn good looking and cool... THEN things would really be different. THEN Shuichi wouldn't have been so useless.
Looking up through strands of hair, Shuichi noticed a familiar face beckoning to him from a table near the entrance, and - despite a slight limp - Shuichi walked over and sat in the empty seat.
"Well," Hiro began, a grin stretching from ear to ear. "it looks like you've been beaten by the one and only Yuki Eiri."
The grimace faded as Shuichi stared. "You know him?"
Shaking his head no, Hiro explained. "No, I only a little bit about him. Essentially, he comes in here about as often as I do, maybe he likes the coffee... or maybe he just takes a lot of breaks - I wouldn't know for sure." Hiro smirked, partly understanding how that Yuki guy felt. "Anyway, he writes mystery novels or something, but he's never made it big. Maybe that's why he's always so cranky."
Nodding, Shuichi urged Hiro to go on. "What else?"
After a pulling a stick of pocky from a small box, Hiro shrugged. "I'm afraid that's all I know. He's kind of secretive."
"Aah." Shuichi muttered, hoping to hide the disappointment in his voice. He really wanted to know more about this Yuki fellow. Perhaps they had met before. That would explain why Shuichi knew the guy's name, wouldn't it?
Pushing himself up from his seat, Shuichi let out a deep breath. He wanted to follow Yuki to find out more, but with that damned injury he knew he wouldn't be able to do it. And then there was his school work. He'd be in trouble if he didn't finish that again. He let his head slide from his palms onto the table. "I need to go home."
A concerned look crossed Hiro's face. "You're not going to make it there in this condition. You'll only make things worse!"
The boy across from him shrugged. "It doesn't matter." Shuichi was too depressed. With all the bad stuff that had been happening lately, he really couldn't care less what happened to his ankle.
Frowning, Hiro stood up. "I hope you don't complain the whole way, because you're not going without me."
A bored, cat-like look crossed Shuichi's face. "Fine," he grumbled, "but you're in for a long walk."
-------
The man walked with long strides, his mind laden with thoughts of characters, stories and mysteries - most importantly the mystery that had taken place before his eyes only thirty minutes ago. He had so many questions wrapped up in his mind, and the one that he wanted to know the answer to most kept bouncing around in his head like an annoying pinball.
"How did that brat know my name? He didn't recognize me as a writer, so it can't be books." Smoke swirled around his head as he spoke. "I'm sure I've never met him before."
Yuki took another puff of his cigarette as he pondered.
Normally in this sort of situation, such a wild thought would be put to rest with an unnecessarily huge amount of logic, but for this there was little logic. It was unsettling to think that there was just some random scrawny kid who knew him. VERY unsettling. It made no sense. Kind of like his mystery novels as of late. He wanted so much to believe that that brat - what was his name? Ah yes, Shuichi - he wanted to believe that that Shuichi had must made a lucky guess, or that he really HAD read Yuki's books and was just being stupid, like most kids these days. It didn't make sense though. Nothing today really made sense.
"Dammit." With a short pause, the cigarette that Yuki held between his long fingers fell to the ground and smouldered upon the sun-heated sidewalk. He knew that he needed to figure this out, and it wasn't going to happen if he just walked along aimlessly. Without giving it much more thought, his body shifted, and his feet began to move once more, only this time in the direction they came from.
-------
The two walked slowly thanks to Shuichi's wounded ankle, giving the boys ample time to get to know each other. Interestingly enough, both were the same age, both seemed to be loner types, and both had an insatiable interest in creating music. The latter point kept the conversation going the whole time that they had been on the move, and it was the very reason they got along so well.
Hiro was a guitar player, Shuichi was a songwriter - their meeting really was like fate, destiny, kismet - if you believe in that sort of thing.
"I play at the café twice a week, you should stop by sometime." Hiro mentioned to a rather dazed, but pleased boy next to him.
Shuichi was quite enthralled to say the least. He was the happiest he had been in awhile, even with the attempted theft and sore ankle. Meeting Hiro was like coming face to face with an opportunity. "I'd love to come! Maybe I can show you my songs later, too!"
Aah, he was smiling! When was the last time he had done that?
Hiro nodded at the promise of an arrangement. "It looks like things may turn out well between us..."
A noise, rather, a voice caught the attention of the pair and forced them to stop. It was an unwelcoming voice, and certainly one that wouldn't be bringing good things with it.
"I saaiiiiidd... HEY KID!"
The boys turned.
Two burly looking men stood blocking the path with scowls across their faces and an unpleasantness (in general) about them. In other words, they were not nice men. That much was obvious.
"You embarrassed me earlier, brat, I want what I came for and I ain't leavin' without it."
With two eyebrows raised, Shuichi stammered. "You're the guy who tried to..."
"Brilliant, now gimme the bag and I won't hurt you too much." (Realizing now that not only did he himself have a partner in crime, his prey also had a guest, the thief upped the ante.) "Hey, you too tall boy, I want any cash you have on ya."
Shuichi looked at Hiro with a questioning glance. There was no use in running, Shuichi couldn't make it with his ankle in pain, but the longer the silence, the closer those men came. Something had to be done. Something...but what?
Finally the words came out. "You're not touching my bag, you bastard!"
-------
"Dammit that sun is bright," Yuki grumbled, a new cigarette being gripped by his lips. At least the heat of the day was fading into something more comfortable as it progressed into late afternoon. His legs were a bit tired from all the walking he had done today, and he craved a cool shower to rinse off the beads of sweat that trickled down his chest beneath the layers of clothing.
He didn't really know what he was thinking when he had turned around to find the kid. And at this very moment he wasn't exactly sure why he hadn't given up the notion in favour of writing his new novel. He just...needed to know. It was hard to explain. Hell, the brat had probably left the café by now to go home to his useless video games. But he thought he should check, just in case.
His jacket fluttered as a small breeze flew past him. Suddenly conscious of his surroundings, Yuki became acutely aware of...someone shouting? No. Two people shouting...or was it more? He couldn't tell. Curious, he moved towards the noise.
-------
A punch was thrown in Shuichi's direction and a loud yelp could be heard across the whole block. The small boy tried desperately to fight back, but the assailant, that same jerk who tried to rob him earlier, was so overpowering.
Hiro had been tossed to the side by the other man and was struggling with aches and pains to pull himself up. Still - the brute pinning him down held very little interest in him. Clearly these men were after Shuichi, and even more clearly, they wouldn't stop until they got what they wanted... whatever that was, exactly.
The man who towered over Shuichi raised a fist and aimed it at a small body that lay cowering beneath him. "This is for pissin' me off earlier ya fuckin' kid."
"STOP!" Shuichi shouted, mentally preparing his body for a painful blow. Why was this guy still here? He already had what he wanted. The jerk had already ripped Shuichi's bag from his very hands...
The man spat. "Not until I pay you my respect."
Shuichi's shaky voice squeaked out from an unknown part of his body - the part that hadn't quite chickened out yet, most likely. "You already have my worthless bag, leave us alone!!!"
A smirk crossed a shadowy face "Why should I?"
Another voice sounded from further away. "I'll give you several reasons."
Blink.
Everything froze.
At first Shuichi thought it was the other man speaking, the one who was 'dealing with' Hiro, but that wouldn't have made any sense. It wasn't until Shuichi adjusted his eyesight that he realized just who had stopped the men from attacking.
"First of all," Yuki began, "what you're doing here is illegal. Secondly, you'd have to be cowards to beat on kids half your size, not to mention age." He paused to exhale a swirl of smoke. "Third, we can easily make this more difficult than it is. Leave... or I'll kill you myself."
The man holding Shuichi's bag raised an eyebrow, considered his options, and seemingly decided that a three against two scuffle wasn't worth his time. He motioned to his partner, who reacted promptly, and the pair ran off, flashing a devilish smirk to the dust-covered pink-haired kid they left behind. The cruel pair had really still won, because Shuichi's bag dangled from a dirty hand, probably never to be seen again.
-------
As Hiro brushed dirt from his clothing, Yuki extended a hand to the worse- off boy, efficiently raising a tear-filled Shuichi to his feet.
"Thanks," Shuichi mumbled, simultaneously ashamed of his inability to fight and the fact that this was the second time today Yuki had bailed him out.
"I don't know who you are, kid, but you've got the worst luck in the world." Yuki muttered.
Unfortunately stating the obvious didn't seem to cheer Shuichi up. But why would it? Even Yuki was aware that today alone the pink haired brat had dealt with attempted theft, injury, a prissy café manager who demanded money, another theft - this one not attempted, and a beating. It was a miracle he was still standing.
Yuki cringed at what he was about to do, but he couldn't bring himself to be cruel to some kid who had lived through more in one day than any of the characters would in one of his novels. He really saw no other choice. Holding back his pride, he reached around the boy.
The hug was gentle. Shuichi made no effort to turn away, or let go, pleased somehow that this man had offered some sort of refuge, even when it clearly made him uncomfortable. And uncomfortable Yuki was, but he stayed with his arms around the smaller boy and let his mind drift, because there was one feeling Yuki just couldn't shake. This kid...Shuichi... Yuki hated to admit the fact, but the kid just seemed so familiar. The café, the chance meetings, the feel of his body... somehow...
Somehow...
He really did know Shuichi...
-------
Weird. I hope it isn't too disjointed T_T, I wanted to finish this chapter weeks ago, but I kept having to leave and come back, etc., so it's kind of rushed... ACK, I SAY!!! ACK!!!
Anyhoo... I want to get to some fun things next chapter, so keep reading, miao!
Fade - A Lifetime Misplaced
Phase Two: Blisters
-------
He couldn't remember. He just couldn't remember. Yuki. Where did that name come from?
Shuichi's two violet eyes were staring at, quite possibly, the most handsome man they had ever seen. Like a sponge, they absorbed the sight - a sexy, blonde-haired, golden-eyed man, wearing sophisticated attire and a devil-may-care look strewn across his face. Shuichi was taken back in awe. For some reason he felt like he should be bowing down at this Yuki- person's feet, but thankfully he didn't take the opportunity. Now was most certainly not the time for more embarrassment.
Yuki stood up and approached the young man who had so thoughtlessly spoken his name. "Don't tell me a punk like you knows how to read books." A puff of smoke drifted over the pink mop of hair.
Confused, Shuichi locked eyes with the blonde man. "My name is Shuichi and I'm not a brat!" He paused and thought for a moment. "You're a writer?"
An annoyed Yuki ignored the question and looked down with an air of arrogance. "Hmph. I didn't think you did."
The response was immediate. "Hey! Just because I've never heard of you doesn't mean I don't read!" With hands fisted and cheeks blushing, Shuichi was prepared to argue in his own defence when the man pulled a wallet from his jacket pocket and extracted several bills. Handing them to the café manager, Yuki ignored the teen's questioning glares as he spoke. "This kid is worthless. Just take this to cover the damages."
"Wha...hey!" Shuichi interrupted. "I didn't ask for your help. Stop trying to act so cool! How do you know I can't afford it? Maybe I'm rich! Maybe I'm...."
It was too late. Without even a second glance Yuki was heading out the door and onto the sunlit street.
Cursing under his breath Shuichi looked up at the pudgy man beside him who had just become eighty dollars richer. And, seeing a questioning glance from the young literate-punk the fat man spoke. "You heard the man, you're off the hook," he said, holding the cash in sweaty palms while grinning. "I don't know what kind of guy would shell out that kind of cash just to bail out a kid like you, but you sure got lucky."
Shuichi cringed and turned away from the annoyance. The audacity of that Yuki guy! Just paying and leaving like that, embarrassing Shuichi in front of everyone. If only his ankle didn't hurt so much, and if only Yuki wasn't so damn good looking and cool... THEN things would really be different. THEN Shuichi wouldn't have been so useless.
Looking up through strands of hair, Shuichi noticed a familiar face beckoning to him from a table near the entrance, and - despite a slight limp - Shuichi walked over and sat in the empty seat.
"Well," Hiro began, a grin stretching from ear to ear. "it looks like you've been beaten by the one and only Yuki Eiri."
The grimace faded as Shuichi stared. "You know him?"
Shaking his head no, Hiro explained. "No, I only a little bit about him. Essentially, he comes in here about as often as I do, maybe he likes the coffee... or maybe he just takes a lot of breaks - I wouldn't know for sure." Hiro smirked, partly understanding how that Yuki guy felt. "Anyway, he writes mystery novels or something, but he's never made it big. Maybe that's why he's always so cranky."
Nodding, Shuichi urged Hiro to go on. "What else?"
After a pulling a stick of pocky from a small box, Hiro shrugged. "I'm afraid that's all I know. He's kind of secretive."
"Aah." Shuichi muttered, hoping to hide the disappointment in his voice. He really wanted to know more about this Yuki fellow. Perhaps they had met before. That would explain why Shuichi knew the guy's name, wouldn't it?
Pushing himself up from his seat, Shuichi let out a deep breath. He wanted to follow Yuki to find out more, but with that damned injury he knew he wouldn't be able to do it. And then there was his school work. He'd be in trouble if he didn't finish that again. He let his head slide from his palms onto the table. "I need to go home."
A concerned look crossed Hiro's face. "You're not going to make it there in this condition. You'll only make things worse!"
The boy across from him shrugged. "It doesn't matter." Shuichi was too depressed. With all the bad stuff that had been happening lately, he really couldn't care less what happened to his ankle.
Frowning, Hiro stood up. "I hope you don't complain the whole way, because you're not going without me."
A bored, cat-like look crossed Shuichi's face. "Fine," he grumbled, "but you're in for a long walk."
-------
The man walked with long strides, his mind laden with thoughts of characters, stories and mysteries - most importantly the mystery that had taken place before his eyes only thirty minutes ago. He had so many questions wrapped up in his mind, and the one that he wanted to know the answer to most kept bouncing around in his head like an annoying pinball.
"How did that brat know my name? He didn't recognize me as a writer, so it can't be books." Smoke swirled around his head as he spoke. "I'm sure I've never met him before."
Yuki took another puff of his cigarette as he pondered.
Normally in this sort of situation, such a wild thought would be put to rest with an unnecessarily huge amount of logic, but for this there was little logic. It was unsettling to think that there was just some random scrawny kid who knew him. VERY unsettling. It made no sense. Kind of like his mystery novels as of late. He wanted so much to believe that that brat - what was his name? Ah yes, Shuichi - he wanted to believe that that Shuichi had must made a lucky guess, or that he really HAD read Yuki's books and was just being stupid, like most kids these days. It didn't make sense though. Nothing today really made sense.
"Dammit." With a short pause, the cigarette that Yuki held between his long fingers fell to the ground and smouldered upon the sun-heated sidewalk. He knew that he needed to figure this out, and it wasn't going to happen if he just walked along aimlessly. Without giving it much more thought, his body shifted, and his feet began to move once more, only this time in the direction they came from.
-------
The two walked slowly thanks to Shuichi's wounded ankle, giving the boys ample time to get to know each other. Interestingly enough, both were the same age, both seemed to be loner types, and both had an insatiable interest in creating music. The latter point kept the conversation going the whole time that they had been on the move, and it was the very reason they got along so well.
Hiro was a guitar player, Shuichi was a songwriter - their meeting really was like fate, destiny, kismet - if you believe in that sort of thing.
"I play at the café twice a week, you should stop by sometime." Hiro mentioned to a rather dazed, but pleased boy next to him.
Shuichi was quite enthralled to say the least. He was the happiest he had been in awhile, even with the attempted theft and sore ankle. Meeting Hiro was like coming face to face with an opportunity. "I'd love to come! Maybe I can show you my songs later, too!"
Aah, he was smiling! When was the last time he had done that?
Hiro nodded at the promise of an arrangement. "It looks like things may turn out well between us..."
A noise, rather, a voice caught the attention of the pair and forced them to stop. It was an unwelcoming voice, and certainly one that wouldn't be bringing good things with it.
"I saaiiiiidd... HEY KID!"
The boys turned.
Two burly looking men stood blocking the path with scowls across their faces and an unpleasantness (in general) about them. In other words, they were not nice men. That much was obvious.
"You embarrassed me earlier, brat, I want what I came for and I ain't leavin' without it."
With two eyebrows raised, Shuichi stammered. "You're the guy who tried to..."
"Brilliant, now gimme the bag and I won't hurt you too much." (Realizing now that not only did he himself have a partner in crime, his prey also had a guest, the thief upped the ante.) "Hey, you too tall boy, I want any cash you have on ya."
Shuichi looked at Hiro with a questioning glance. There was no use in running, Shuichi couldn't make it with his ankle in pain, but the longer the silence, the closer those men came. Something had to be done. Something...but what?
Finally the words came out. "You're not touching my bag, you bastard!"
-------
"Dammit that sun is bright," Yuki grumbled, a new cigarette being gripped by his lips. At least the heat of the day was fading into something more comfortable as it progressed into late afternoon. His legs were a bit tired from all the walking he had done today, and he craved a cool shower to rinse off the beads of sweat that trickled down his chest beneath the layers of clothing.
He didn't really know what he was thinking when he had turned around to find the kid. And at this very moment he wasn't exactly sure why he hadn't given up the notion in favour of writing his new novel. He just...needed to know. It was hard to explain. Hell, the brat had probably left the café by now to go home to his useless video games. But he thought he should check, just in case.
His jacket fluttered as a small breeze flew past him. Suddenly conscious of his surroundings, Yuki became acutely aware of...someone shouting? No. Two people shouting...or was it more? He couldn't tell. Curious, he moved towards the noise.
-------
A punch was thrown in Shuichi's direction and a loud yelp could be heard across the whole block. The small boy tried desperately to fight back, but the assailant, that same jerk who tried to rob him earlier, was so overpowering.
Hiro had been tossed to the side by the other man and was struggling with aches and pains to pull himself up. Still - the brute pinning him down held very little interest in him. Clearly these men were after Shuichi, and even more clearly, they wouldn't stop until they got what they wanted... whatever that was, exactly.
The man who towered over Shuichi raised a fist and aimed it at a small body that lay cowering beneath him. "This is for pissin' me off earlier ya fuckin' kid."
"STOP!" Shuichi shouted, mentally preparing his body for a painful blow. Why was this guy still here? He already had what he wanted. The jerk had already ripped Shuichi's bag from his very hands...
The man spat. "Not until I pay you my respect."
Shuichi's shaky voice squeaked out from an unknown part of his body - the part that hadn't quite chickened out yet, most likely. "You already have my worthless bag, leave us alone!!!"
A smirk crossed a shadowy face "Why should I?"
Another voice sounded from further away. "I'll give you several reasons."
Blink.
Everything froze.
At first Shuichi thought it was the other man speaking, the one who was 'dealing with' Hiro, but that wouldn't have made any sense. It wasn't until Shuichi adjusted his eyesight that he realized just who had stopped the men from attacking.
"First of all," Yuki began, "what you're doing here is illegal. Secondly, you'd have to be cowards to beat on kids half your size, not to mention age." He paused to exhale a swirl of smoke. "Third, we can easily make this more difficult than it is. Leave... or I'll kill you myself."
The man holding Shuichi's bag raised an eyebrow, considered his options, and seemingly decided that a three against two scuffle wasn't worth his time. He motioned to his partner, who reacted promptly, and the pair ran off, flashing a devilish smirk to the dust-covered pink-haired kid they left behind. The cruel pair had really still won, because Shuichi's bag dangled from a dirty hand, probably never to be seen again.
-------
As Hiro brushed dirt from his clothing, Yuki extended a hand to the worse- off boy, efficiently raising a tear-filled Shuichi to his feet.
"Thanks," Shuichi mumbled, simultaneously ashamed of his inability to fight and the fact that this was the second time today Yuki had bailed him out.
"I don't know who you are, kid, but you've got the worst luck in the world." Yuki muttered.
Unfortunately stating the obvious didn't seem to cheer Shuichi up. But why would it? Even Yuki was aware that today alone the pink haired brat had dealt with attempted theft, injury, a prissy café manager who demanded money, another theft - this one not attempted, and a beating. It was a miracle he was still standing.
Yuki cringed at what he was about to do, but he couldn't bring himself to be cruel to some kid who had lived through more in one day than any of the characters would in one of his novels. He really saw no other choice. Holding back his pride, he reached around the boy.
The hug was gentle. Shuichi made no effort to turn away, or let go, pleased somehow that this man had offered some sort of refuge, even when it clearly made him uncomfortable. And uncomfortable Yuki was, but he stayed with his arms around the smaller boy and let his mind drift, because there was one feeling Yuki just couldn't shake. This kid...Shuichi... Yuki hated to admit the fact, but the kid just seemed so familiar. The café, the chance meetings, the feel of his body... somehow...
Somehow...
He really did know Shuichi...
-------
Weird. I hope it isn't too disjointed T_T, I wanted to finish this chapter weeks ago, but I kept having to leave and come back, etc., so it's kind of rushed... ACK, I SAY!!! ACK!!!
Anyhoo... I want to get to some fun things next chapter, so keep reading, miao!