Disclaimer: Gravitation does not belong to me.
Notes: Got quite a few things to say here. First, thank you very much on the many "kind words" on Tohma from the reviews of the last chapter. Haha…Tohma's notorious eh…Next, here is chapter 07. This IS a lousy chapter. It's something I came up with to slow down the storyline a little. BUT I promise we'll get back on track in chapter 08 cos' SOMETHING BIG is going to happen and it will lead to the ending of the story (which is about 2-4 chapters away from 08). So I am going to end the story soon and I hope you people can read till the very end. SO~! Even though this is a lousy chapter, please do R&R. Flame me, kill me and stab me with harsh reviews, I don't mind (although I will get upset and start whining). Just review and pardon the grammar as usual. Well…hope you people will enjoy(?) this chapter.
Chapter 07: "For myself. For…Eiri."
"Eiri." Mika Seguchi's supposedly mellifluous voice screeched unusually. Loquacious as she always was, in Eiri's opinion, he was still much annoyed that his sister broke the silence in his house. He did not like the quietness of his house to be interrupted. He could not tolerate that. Mika was just too loud, like Shui…no…they were different.
Even though he had the "genki-maniac" Shindou Shuichi under the same roof with him for the past year, Shuichi was considered not as loud as Mika was. Shuichi's babbles were just different. At least, they were babbles of exaltation of love for Eiri…and sometimes whimpers of annoyance and irritations of Eiri's coldness and harshness towards him too, of course. However, these were soothing hymns, unlike Mika's high-pitched complaints and sarcasms. Sure there were times when Eiri would like to mummified Shuichi's mouth and throw him out but his trap was of much preference than that of Mika's.
"Eiri!" Mika called out again. Eiri decided to be ignorant as always. Being ignorant was the only effective way to make his sister shut her goddamn mouth. He got up from the couch, took the beer he had with him and strode back to his study room…ignorantly. And Mika received the message clearly. But, being the pompous "Tohma Seguchi's wife" she was and her inheritance of the arrogant genes of the Usegi family, she would not give up that easily.
"Can you just hear me out for a minute? Eiri!" As Mika raced Eiri towards the study room, she could not help but raised her volume as a sign of irritation of her brother's ignorance. Eiri had crossed the limit. For the past half an hour, she had been trying hard to get her brother to talk and what she achieved was the cold treatment from him.
"Shut up." Eiri replied coolly as he sat himself down on his armchair, turned around and face the wall. He was struggling to keep his composure. He wanted to explode and fuck the nonchalance that his mind was working out. But he didn't. He counted silently from one to ten as a mean to keep the cool-headedness linger for another moment.
"Look, all of us are worried where that boy is. It is not only you who is suffering from all this. All of us are in it as well. Eiri…Eiri…are you listening to me?"
Yeah right. Fuck your worries. And that boy is Shuichi. He's not a boy. He's more than that.
"Eiri! Are you listening to me? Shuichi could not have gone far. He's blind and furthermore his body can no longer sustain long journeys. I am sure the police will find him soon."
Stop it. He's not blind. He just…he just can't see. That's all. Police? Damn the cops. It's been more than two days since he disappeared and those sons of the bitches haven't even got a clue to where he is. And good, call him Shuichi.
"Eiri! God! Stop this! Stop this fucking cold treatment!"
Mind your language, sister.
"Eiri!"
"I SAID SHUT UP!" That was it. Eiri exploded at last. He could no longer control himself as he turned and shred his sister with fiery piercing eyes. Not just eyes filled with anger, but eyes enveloped by grief, fear and worries too. Grief of Shuichi's conditions. Fear for Shuichi's life. Worries of Shuichi's well being. And Mika knew she had talked too much. She knew it was time to keep quiet. She knew her brother was overcame by anger and frustrations at the moment. She knew it was best to leave him alone for the moment.
Silence fell into the study room. Heaviness of the atmosphere sank. The cold walls reflected the sheer quietness of the air. It seemed almost eternity before Mika…
"Sorry." She left softly with an apology. Yuki Eiri's house was filled with silence, like what it had been thirty-five minutes ago.
*** ***
"Na…Shuichi's missing? …Ma…YOSH! Kumagourou's gonna find him!' Ryuichi Sakuma flung himself towards the door with his pink bunny rabbit plush toy on his head. Thirties was his age range, yet, instead of maturity and manly guts, sparks of youth and childishness glittered around him, leaving people awed most of the times.
But not for Nuriko Ukai, Ryuichi's Nittle Grasper band mate of more than ten years, who judged the latter as a baka with an intelligence quotient of not more than that of a three-year-old brat.
"Hold on, Ryu-chan." Nuriko, in her most bizarre feminine ways, stopped Ryuichi from making one more step towards the door of Studio 4A of a local television station. "You are not going anywhere. Tohma's not here, so you better stay put here. And Shuichi's disappearance is none of your business. Besides, we've got an interview to do here in less than 25 minutes…make that 24 minutes."
"But…but…Shuichi's my friend. As a friend, I must go help him…" Puffy puppy dog eyes popped out the "every-hit-hits-the-billboard" singer.
"So what if he is…? You are not…"
Nuriko had to stop. There was nothing more to say. Not to a 7 feet pink bunny rabbit in your hand and the owner of it was nowhere to be seen…in Studio 4B of a local television station.
(Author's note: adapted from OVA 02. OVA 02 does not belong to me either. End of author's note)
*** ***
"Tohma…"
"Yes?" Seguchi Tohma replied resplendently to his wife, Seguchi Mika, opposite him. Lunch was what they were having. Some exquisite western restaurant was where they were.
" It's about Eiri…and the boy." Mika answered back tiredly. Indeed, she was tired. Tired of seeing her brother in such a pathetic state once again. Tired to see her brother hurt once again. Tired of worrying that her brother would lock himself from the rest of the world once again. Mika had enough. "Where's the boy?"
Silence interrupted their conversation for 3 minutes and 49 seconds.
"…I don't know." Tohma decided to response to his wife's question.
"I don't know too…"
"Huh?"
"Don't know whether you are doing the right thing, Tohma." Mika sighed in a less than satisfied tone.
"I know what's best for the both of them." Tohma had lost his appetite, pushing away the half-finished sirloin steak in front of him. His trademarked smile was no longer hanging between his cheeks.
"…I hope you do." Mika stood up, picked up her bag and left the restaurant leaving Tohma and her desserts behind.
** ***
For some reasons or another, the night scenery from fifth floor, President's office of N-G building always tranquilized Tohma, soothing his frustrations away little by little, bit by bit. It was neither exceptionally beautiful nor majestically appealing. But there was something divine that Tohma found in watching the black sea of drowned city lights. He wasn't too sure either.
Tonight was one of those nights. Nights whereby the celebrated billion- dollar president would look down from his office's windows and let himself be overwhelmed by the slow locomotive city lights. Nights whereby the famed producer and keyboardist of the acclaimed Nittle Grasper tried to get things off his mind.
Tohma knew. He knew a lot of things, including bad things of course. He knew he was unscrupulous. Doing whatever it takes to achieve his goals. He preferred to use the word "scheming" to describe himself. Scheming was what he was notorious and famous simultaneously in the industry. Yes, he was scheming in both his profession and his personal life and he would continue be so. He could not stop for that was his way of life, his survival skill. He liked to be scheming too. He loved to see things work out in weird ways. He would celebrate when his schemes achieved the results he wanted. And confidence was what he had to be scheming. He was always confident. Vibrantly confident of himself. That was his drive, his motivation.
"Sigh…" Tohma shut his eyes for a rest. He was exhausted. He was burnt out. For the very first time of his life, he felt tired. He felt despondent. He felt the confidence he had was severely drained. His life was licked. He was licked. But by what? He did not know. He wished he did but no, he didn't. What he knew was that he could not stop now. He had to continue even if he was to be licked again. For himself. For…Eiri.
"Am I...right?"
"Kumagourou says you are always right, Tohma."
"Ah…huh?!" A pink bunny rabbit plush toy jutted out in front of Tohma's desk. Beside it stood…
"Ryu…Ryuichi…" Tohma jumped a little seeing his fellow band mate in his office, awed by how the singer was able to sneak into his office indistinctly. "When…when did you get…"
"Ma…Tohma." The puffy puppy eyes were no longer in sight. The usual boyish grin was wiped out from the face. There stood a matured earnest man in his late thirties. Another jolt. Tohma was shaken by Ryuichi tonight. Was it because of the odd feelings he had tonight or was it because of Ryuichi's attitude…he didn't know. He was too surprised to know why.
"Yes?" Tohma re-composed himself before answering.
"You are always right, Tohma." Ryuichi stated dauntlessly, yet in a monotonous unfeeling tone.
"Thank you, Ryuichi. Now…may I ask the reason for your presence here?" Sensing Ryuichi's difference tonight, Tohma formalized his tone of speech as a response.
"I am here for Shuichi." Ryuichi paused for a moment before he continued. Still the dauntless unfeeling tone. He never had a conversation like this with Ryuichi before. It was like Ryuichi's words had a metaphoric gun pointed at his head. He felt uneasy with that.
"What about Shuichi?"
"Where is he?"
Tohma shook yet again.
Not Ryuichi too. Not you too, Ryuichi. Shuichi…Shuichi…Shuichi…Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I won't tell you where he is. I won't fucking tell anyone where he is. I won't. For myself. For…Eiri.
"Tohma…where is he?"
Shut up. I won't fucking tell you. Not even you, Ryuichi. Not you. Not Mika. Not everyone. What's the fucking problem here? Shuichi this. Shuichi that. I will kill him. I must kill him. For myself. For…Eiri.
"Tohma…"
"I don't know, Ryuichi. Pardon me but if there's nothing else, please take your leave."
Time stopped ticking for a moment. There was a brief pause in the office.
"Fine then…" Ryuichi turned to the door to leave. The monotone still lingered in his speech before…
"You are always right, Tohma…That's what I…thought. Oyasumi, Tohma. Genki desu ne." He shut the door quietly, left the office, leaving Kumagourou and Tohma behind.
*** ***
"The worst thing now is Shindou-san is nowhere to be found." Fujisaki stated to his fellow audience including Sakano, K and Hiro. The Bad Luck team excluding Shuichi was in the third conference room of N-G building, staying back after an administrative meeting about the future of Bad Luck and Hiro's debut in going solo.
"Right when he had decided to go for the op…goodness, what was he thinking…? That idiot…" Hiro exclaimed. He was angry, of course. All his efforts in persuading his best friend had gone down the drain, wasted. Furthermore, he was mad that Shuichi made him worry again, that Shuichi made him fear again.
"Ah…Shindou-san will be fine, Hiro-kun. The police haven't found any traces of Shindou-san yet. So he's probably fine for…." Sakano tried calming Hiro down before he was interrupted.
"I think I know where Shuichi is…" K said matter-of-factly as he polished his new magnum. "Your company's president has him."
"You mean Seguchi-san?"
"Seguchi-san?"
"President?"
"That's right." K replied to the three shocked faces.
"But why?" Hiro was the first to regained consciousness. "Why does Seguchi- san…"
"Yuki Eiri." K interrupted in the matter-of-fact tone again. "To protect Yuki Eiri…like he did the last time."
An utter stillness followed. Nobody knew what to say and neither do they feel like saying anything else. But the noiselessness was still broken in the end.
"Shall we find him? I can go talk to Seguchi-san." Fujisaki was the one ending the tension.
"No." Hiro rebutted.
"Huh?"
"Like I said before to Shuichi…the one who caused this must bear the responsibility."
*** ***
Rain drizzled down lightly and clearly. It was not pouring. No, it wasn't. Just a drizzle. The moonlight was still able to penetrate the clouds, quivering in the luminous silver waters on the grounds.
Yuki Eiri was hooked up on the edge. He was over the edge actually.
Another gulp of beer. It was the thirteenth or fourteenth can. He did not know. He had lost count.
Another puff of cigarette. It was the tenth or eleventh cigarette. He did not know either. He had lost count of that too.
Fuck.
He could not stop thinking.
He could not stop drinking.
He could not stop smoking.
He was one step to become hysterical as the seconds ticked away. It was like having a time bomb in the head and there was no knowing of what the time limit was.
"Shuichi…" Yuki's voice shook the apartment inconspicuously.
//
Huh?
Are you the one who wrote this?
Huh…er…ye…yes.
Is this supposed to be a love song? Your level is way below an elementary school kid.
Your talent is zero. Give it up.
//
Do you want to commit suicide? Or do you want something from me? Which is it, kid?
I'm Shindou Shuichi…I …
Since you know what I'm talking about, then it doesn't matter what I call you.
Though you don't look delicate enough to commit suicide.
I…I just want to see you again.
//
Shut up.
You annoyed me, asking why why why. That woman asked the same thing.
How about you?
Why do you appear in front of me so many times?
Why do you look at me with those eyes?
Tell me.
//
I just want to know more about you. I was only thinking of helping you.
Liar.
Helping me? Don't make me laugh. There's no such thing as not to expect something in return in this world.
That's a big lie.
Yuki…
//
Why…I don't understand you…
You are the one that I don't understand. What do you want from me?
//
Baka baka baka baaaakaaa.
Stop calling me "baka" It takes one to be a baka to know…
But now, you are just a little kawaii.
//
There are many people who wanted to be with me. But you are the first to be this weird, unreasonable and idiotic.
Ah…gomen, Yuki.
But…I…just…
//
Oyasumi.
//
Yuki is MINE!!!
//
I mean that I'll be your lover.
//
Mika-san told me yesterday that I don't know anything about Yuki.
But I didn't ask her anything because I want to know about you by myself. I want to know the truth from you.
Mika-san…why did she say such things?
From what she said, it seems like I must know something but yet, I don't know anything at all.
Why is it, Yuki?
I really want to know everything about you.
//
Forget it…I won't say I hate you anymore. I won't chase you out of here anymore.
Yuki…
I'll disappear.
//
I finally realized it.
I love you.
No matter what kind of a person you are or whatever past you have, Yuki is still Yuki.
//
You said…you love me?
Now…can you still say the same thing?
You are such an idiot.
Huh?
Of course I do. So what about the past?
No matter how horrible or terrible your words are it's too late.
You…can't leave me anymore.
Now…do you still have the guts to marry someone else?
//
Shut up! Get back to where you are! Shuichi!
You call me Shuichi…
You call my name…
//
It's my fault…
It's my fault that you…you suffer the same experience as I do…
Yu…Yuki…
I…I really want to be with you…
But I can't. I don't want to remember the past.
Because if I remember, I will be betrayed once again.
I don't want…I don't want that…
I don't want…to be back at that time…
Yuki…
//
Six years?! Yuki you are so cool~! I cry once everyday, ya know.
Ah…
WAI~~~! You are so cooooooool!
It's like you have a dark and sad past! Ah…you really have ONE~! AHAHAHAHAHAHA~~!
//
Heard that you are releasing your new album…
Ah…yes…
If your album sales exceed a million copies, I'll take you out for a date.
//
We are lovers.
//
I don't want Yuki to leave me but the more I don't want Yuki to suffer because of me. So…
So…?
//
*snap*
//
This is my secret. So…are you happy now that you know everything? You always wanted to know everything, didn't you?
Mm…
…Good.
…Yuki…
//
No matter where you are, be it dead or alive, I will find you.
//
Find you…
"I will find you, Shuichi…" Yuki Eiri stood up and left with a soft "thud" on the door.
To be continued…
Notes: Got quite a few things to say here. First, thank you very much on the many "kind words" on Tohma from the reviews of the last chapter. Haha…Tohma's notorious eh…Next, here is chapter 07. This IS a lousy chapter. It's something I came up with to slow down the storyline a little. BUT I promise we'll get back on track in chapter 08 cos' SOMETHING BIG is going to happen and it will lead to the ending of the story (which is about 2-4 chapters away from 08). So I am going to end the story soon and I hope you people can read till the very end. SO~! Even though this is a lousy chapter, please do R&R. Flame me, kill me and stab me with harsh reviews, I don't mind (although I will get upset and start whining). Just review and pardon the grammar as usual. Well…hope you people will enjoy(?) this chapter.
Chapter 07: "For myself. For…Eiri."
"Eiri." Mika Seguchi's supposedly mellifluous voice screeched unusually. Loquacious as she always was, in Eiri's opinion, he was still much annoyed that his sister broke the silence in his house. He did not like the quietness of his house to be interrupted. He could not tolerate that. Mika was just too loud, like Shui…no…they were different.
Even though he had the "genki-maniac" Shindou Shuichi under the same roof with him for the past year, Shuichi was considered not as loud as Mika was. Shuichi's babbles were just different. At least, they were babbles of exaltation of love for Eiri…and sometimes whimpers of annoyance and irritations of Eiri's coldness and harshness towards him too, of course. However, these were soothing hymns, unlike Mika's high-pitched complaints and sarcasms. Sure there were times when Eiri would like to mummified Shuichi's mouth and throw him out but his trap was of much preference than that of Mika's.
"Eiri!" Mika called out again. Eiri decided to be ignorant as always. Being ignorant was the only effective way to make his sister shut her goddamn mouth. He got up from the couch, took the beer he had with him and strode back to his study room…ignorantly. And Mika received the message clearly. But, being the pompous "Tohma Seguchi's wife" she was and her inheritance of the arrogant genes of the Usegi family, she would not give up that easily.
"Can you just hear me out for a minute? Eiri!" As Mika raced Eiri towards the study room, she could not help but raised her volume as a sign of irritation of her brother's ignorance. Eiri had crossed the limit. For the past half an hour, she had been trying hard to get her brother to talk and what she achieved was the cold treatment from him.
"Shut up." Eiri replied coolly as he sat himself down on his armchair, turned around and face the wall. He was struggling to keep his composure. He wanted to explode and fuck the nonchalance that his mind was working out. But he didn't. He counted silently from one to ten as a mean to keep the cool-headedness linger for another moment.
"Look, all of us are worried where that boy is. It is not only you who is suffering from all this. All of us are in it as well. Eiri…Eiri…are you listening to me?"
Yeah right. Fuck your worries. And that boy is Shuichi. He's not a boy. He's more than that.
"Eiri! Are you listening to me? Shuichi could not have gone far. He's blind and furthermore his body can no longer sustain long journeys. I am sure the police will find him soon."
Stop it. He's not blind. He just…he just can't see. That's all. Police? Damn the cops. It's been more than two days since he disappeared and those sons of the bitches haven't even got a clue to where he is. And good, call him Shuichi.
"Eiri! God! Stop this! Stop this fucking cold treatment!"
Mind your language, sister.
"Eiri!"
"I SAID SHUT UP!" That was it. Eiri exploded at last. He could no longer control himself as he turned and shred his sister with fiery piercing eyes. Not just eyes filled with anger, but eyes enveloped by grief, fear and worries too. Grief of Shuichi's conditions. Fear for Shuichi's life. Worries of Shuichi's well being. And Mika knew she had talked too much. She knew it was time to keep quiet. She knew her brother was overcame by anger and frustrations at the moment. She knew it was best to leave him alone for the moment.
Silence fell into the study room. Heaviness of the atmosphere sank. The cold walls reflected the sheer quietness of the air. It seemed almost eternity before Mika…
"Sorry." She left softly with an apology. Yuki Eiri's house was filled with silence, like what it had been thirty-five minutes ago.
*** ***
"Na…Shuichi's missing? …Ma…YOSH! Kumagourou's gonna find him!' Ryuichi Sakuma flung himself towards the door with his pink bunny rabbit plush toy on his head. Thirties was his age range, yet, instead of maturity and manly guts, sparks of youth and childishness glittered around him, leaving people awed most of the times.
But not for Nuriko Ukai, Ryuichi's Nittle Grasper band mate of more than ten years, who judged the latter as a baka with an intelligence quotient of not more than that of a three-year-old brat.
"Hold on, Ryu-chan." Nuriko, in her most bizarre feminine ways, stopped Ryuichi from making one more step towards the door of Studio 4A of a local television station. "You are not going anywhere. Tohma's not here, so you better stay put here. And Shuichi's disappearance is none of your business. Besides, we've got an interview to do here in less than 25 minutes…make that 24 minutes."
"But…but…Shuichi's my friend. As a friend, I must go help him…" Puffy puppy dog eyes popped out the "every-hit-hits-the-billboard" singer.
"So what if he is…? You are not…"
Nuriko had to stop. There was nothing more to say. Not to a 7 feet pink bunny rabbit in your hand and the owner of it was nowhere to be seen…in Studio 4B of a local television station.
(Author's note: adapted from OVA 02. OVA 02 does not belong to me either. End of author's note)
*** ***
"Tohma…"
"Yes?" Seguchi Tohma replied resplendently to his wife, Seguchi Mika, opposite him. Lunch was what they were having. Some exquisite western restaurant was where they were.
" It's about Eiri…and the boy." Mika answered back tiredly. Indeed, she was tired. Tired of seeing her brother in such a pathetic state once again. Tired to see her brother hurt once again. Tired of worrying that her brother would lock himself from the rest of the world once again. Mika had enough. "Where's the boy?"
Silence interrupted their conversation for 3 minutes and 49 seconds.
"…I don't know." Tohma decided to response to his wife's question.
"I don't know too…"
"Huh?"
"Don't know whether you are doing the right thing, Tohma." Mika sighed in a less than satisfied tone.
"I know what's best for the both of them." Tohma had lost his appetite, pushing away the half-finished sirloin steak in front of him. His trademarked smile was no longer hanging between his cheeks.
"…I hope you do." Mika stood up, picked up her bag and left the restaurant leaving Tohma and her desserts behind.
** ***
For some reasons or another, the night scenery from fifth floor, President's office of N-G building always tranquilized Tohma, soothing his frustrations away little by little, bit by bit. It was neither exceptionally beautiful nor majestically appealing. But there was something divine that Tohma found in watching the black sea of drowned city lights. He wasn't too sure either.
Tonight was one of those nights. Nights whereby the celebrated billion- dollar president would look down from his office's windows and let himself be overwhelmed by the slow locomotive city lights. Nights whereby the famed producer and keyboardist of the acclaimed Nittle Grasper tried to get things off his mind.
Tohma knew. He knew a lot of things, including bad things of course. He knew he was unscrupulous. Doing whatever it takes to achieve his goals. He preferred to use the word "scheming" to describe himself. Scheming was what he was notorious and famous simultaneously in the industry. Yes, he was scheming in both his profession and his personal life and he would continue be so. He could not stop for that was his way of life, his survival skill. He liked to be scheming too. He loved to see things work out in weird ways. He would celebrate when his schemes achieved the results he wanted. And confidence was what he had to be scheming. He was always confident. Vibrantly confident of himself. That was his drive, his motivation.
"Sigh…" Tohma shut his eyes for a rest. He was exhausted. He was burnt out. For the very first time of his life, he felt tired. He felt despondent. He felt the confidence he had was severely drained. His life was licked. He was licked. But by what? He did not know. He wished he did but no, he didn't. What he knew was that he could not stop now. He had to continue even if he was to be licked again. For himself. For…Eiri.
"Am I...right?"
"Kumagourou says you are always right, Tohma."
"Ah…huh?!" A pink bunny rabbit plush toy jutted out in front of Tohma's desk. Beside it stood…
"Ryu…Ryuichi…" Tohma jumped a little seeing his fellow band mate in his office, awed by how the singer was able to sneak into his office indistinctly. "When…when did you get…"
"Ma…Tohma." The puffy puppy eyes were no longer in sight. The usual boyish grin was wiped out from the face. There stood a matured earnest man in his late thirties. Another jolt. Tohma was shaken by Ryuichi tonight. Was it because of the odd feelings he had tonight or was it because of Ryuichi's attitude…he didn't know. He was too surprised to know why.
"Yes?" Tohma re-composed himself before answering.
"You are always right, Tohma." Ryuichi stated dauntlessly, yet in a monotonous unfeeling tone.
"Thank you, Ryuichi. Now…may I ask the reason for your presence here?" Sensing Ryuichi's difference tonight, Tohma formalized his tone of speech as a response.
"I am here for Shuichi." Ryuichi paused for a moment before he continued. Still the dauntless unfeeling tone. He never had a conversation like this with Ryuichi before. It was like Ryuichi's words had a metaphoric gun pointed at his head. He felt uneasy with that.
"What about Shuichi?"
"Where is he?"
Tohma shook yet again.
Not Ryuichi too. Not you too, Ryuichi. Shuichi…Shuichi…Shuichi…Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I won't tell you where he is. I won't fucking tell anyone where he is. I won't. For myself. For…Eiri.
"Tohma…where is he?"
Shut up. I won't fucking tell you. Not even you, Ryuichi. Not you. Not Mika. Not everyone. What's the fucking problem here? Shuichi this. Shuichi that. I will kill him. I must kill him. For myself. For…Eiri.
"Tohma…"
"I don't know, Ryuichi. Pardon me but if there's nothing else, please take your leave."
Time stopped ticking for a moment. There was a brief pause in the office.
"Fine then…" Ryuichi turned to the door to leave. The monotone still lingered in his speech before…
"You are always right, Tohma…That's what I…thought. Oyasumi, Tohma. Genki desu ne." He shut the door quietly, left the office, leaving Kumagourou and Tohma behind.
*** ***
"The worst thing now is Shindou-san is nowhere to be found." Fujisaki stated to his fellow audience including Sakano, K and Hiro. The Bad Luck team excluding Shuichi was in the third conference room of N-G building, staying back after an administrative meeting about the future of Bad Luck and Hiro's debut in going solo.
"Right when he had decided to go for the op…goodness, what was he thinking…? That idiot…" Hiro exclaimed. He was angry, of course. All his efforts in persuading his best friend had gone down the drain, wasted. Furthermore, he was mad that Shuichi made him worry again, that Shuichi made him fear again.
"Ah…Shindou-san will be fine, Hiro-kun. The police haven't found any traces of Shindou-san yet. So he's probably fine for…." Sakano tried calming Hiro down before he was interrupted.
"I think I know where Shuichi is…" K said matter-of-factly as he polished his new magnum. "Your company's president has him."
"You mean Seguchi-san?"
"Seguchi-san?"
"President?"
"That's right." K replied to the three shocked faces.
"But why?" Hiro was the first to regained consciousness. "Why does Seguchi- san…"
"Yuki Eiri." K interrupted in the matter-of-fact tone again. "To protect Yuki Eiri…like he did the last time."
An utter stillness followed. Nobody knew what to say and neither do they feel like saying anything else. But the noiselessness was still broken in the end.
"Shall we find him? I can go talk to Seguchi-san." Fujisaki was the one ending the tension.
"No." Hiro rebutted.
"Huh?"
"Like I said before to Shuichi…the one who caused this must bear the responsibility."
*** ***
Rain drizzled down lightly and clearly. It was not pouring. No, it wasn't. Just a drizzle. The moonlight was still able to penetrate the clouds, quivering in the luminous silver waters on the grounds.
Yuki Eiri was hooked up on the edge. He was over the edge actually.
Another gulp of beer. It was the thirteenth or fourteenth can. He did not know. He had lost count.
Another puff of cigarette. It was the tenth or eleventh cigarette. He did not know either. He had lost count of that too.
Fuck.
He could not stop thinking.
He could not stop drinking.
He could not stop smoking.
He was one step to become hysterical as the seconds ticked away. It was like having a time bomb in the head and there was no knowing of what the time limit was.
"Shuichi…" Yuki's voice shook the apartment inconspicuously.
//
Huh?
Are you the one who wrote this?
Huh…er…ye…yes.
Is this supposed to be a love song? Your level is way below an elementary school kid.
Your talent is zero. Give it up.
//
Do you want to commit suicide? Or do you want something from me? Which is it, kid?
I'm Shindou Shuichi…I …
Since you know what I'm talking about, then it doesn't matter what I call you.
Though you don't look delicate enough to commit suicide.
I…I just want to see you again.
//
Shut up.
You annoyed me, asking why why why. That woman asked the same thing.
How about you?
Why do you appear in front of me so many times?
Why do you look at me with those eyes?
Tell me.
//
I just want to know more about you. I was only thinking of helping you.
Liar.
Helping me? Don't make me laugh. There's no such thing as not to expect something in return in this world.
That's a big lie.
Yuki…
//
Why…I don't understand you…
You are the one that I don't understand. What do you want from me?
//
Baka baka baka baaaakaaa.
Stop calling me "baka" It takes one to be a baka to know…
But now, you are just a little kawaii.
//
There are many people who wanted to be with me. But you are the first to be this weird, unreasonable and idiotic.
Ah…gomen, Yuki.
But…I…just…
//
Oyasumi.
//
Yuki is MINE!!!
//
I mean that I'll be your lover.
//
Mika-san told me yesterday that I don't know anything about Yuki.
But I didn't ask her anything because I want to know about you by myself. I want to know the truth from you.
Mika-san…why did she say such things?
From what she said, it seems like I must know something but yet, I don't know anything at all.
Why is it, Yuki?
I really want to know everything about you.
//
Forget it…I won't say I hate you anymore. I won't chase you out of here anymore.
Yuki…
I'll disappear.
//
I finally realized it.
I love you.
No matter what kind of a person you are or whatever past you have, Yuki is still Yuki.
//
You said…you love me?
Now…can you still say the same thing?
You are such an idiot.
Huh?
Of course I do. So what about the past?
No matter how horrible or terrible your words are it's too late.
You…can't leave me anymore.
Now…do you still have the guts to marry someone else?
//
Shut up! Get back to where you are! Shuichi!
You call me Shuichi…
You call my name…
//
It's my fault…
It's my fault that you…you suffer the same experience as I do…
Yu…Yuki…
I…I really want to be with you…
But I can't. I don't want to remember the past.
Because if I remember, I will be betrayed once again.
I don't want…I don't want that…
I don't want…to be back at that time…
Yuki…
//
Six years?! Yuki you are so cool~! I cry once everyday, ya know.
Ah…
WAI~~~! You are so cooooooool!
It's like you have a dark and sad past! Ah…you really have ONE~! AHAHAHAHAHAHA~~!
//
Heard that you are releasing your new album…
Ah…yes…
If your album sales exceed a million copies, I'll take you out for a date.
//
We are lovers.
//
I don't want Yuki to leave me but the more I don't want Yuki to suffer because of me. So…
So…?
//
*snap*
//
This is my secret. So…are you happy now that you know everything? You always wanted to know everything, didn't you?
Mm…
…Good.
…Yuki…
//
No matter where you are, be it dead or alive, I will find you.
//
Find you…
"I will find you, Shuichi…" Yuki Eiri stood up and left with a soft "thud" on the door.
To be continued…