Oh, thank you all so very very much for your dear reviews, you can't imagine what they mean to me!!! I never thought that someone could possibly like my stupid writing, I was really surprised when I saw the reviews… Actually I was planning to finish this story in the following chapter, but it turned out to be longer than I thought, and when you like/read/review it… I think I'll go on. ^.^ Hope you'll still like it…
*bows deep* and now the credits… I want to thank Hitomi No Ryu, Lovely-Ryuichi, Bea-chan, AISH a.k.a. Kitty in the box, Kaiba_Corp, Guardian Spirit, Misura, Ash of Mine, Megamie, Natsu-chan, libe, TomomiWolfChocobo and chibi koi-chan!!!!
Special comments:
Nikki, Scuff: *blushes* Thanks, I'm glad that my English isn't as bad as I thought either. Anyway, if you find any mistake, or have an idea how to paraphrase something in a better way, just tell me!
Hotaru007: You got chills? Oh, that's probably the best praising I ever got… I love reading fanfics that make me cry, laugh, shudder or give me the creeps, and I also try to write them, but wanting something and actually being able to do it are two very different things… so I'm happy to hear that my story touched you a little!!
Dna18: *grins* I _knew_ it! I simply _knew_ that this idea of mine can't possibly be new… argh XD But write it anyway and tell me when you upload it, I want to read your version! And thanks again for the slang ^.^Y
~~~Chapter 2- Anrui~~~
utsumuite furueru kimi o
kono ude de dakishimetakute
kono sekai no dare yori mo kimi o
mamoritai to kizuita kara
You're hanging your head and trembling
I want to hold you in my arms
Because more than anyone else in this world
I realized I wanted to protect youGackt Camui, "Saikai~Story"
Despair.
Sorrow.
Betrayal.
Pain.
That was what Shuichi felt.
Never before Yuki had raised his hand against him, never he had hurt him this way.
And that, together with his already upset emotions and his physically not-far-from-collapsing condition, was enough to break him.
He couldn't take it anymore.
Too much…
He couldn't even cry.
The pain was overwhelming, hunting him as he ran through the night, not caring where or how long he ran, only trying to escape the pain, to get away from the source of his sorrow.
It didn't take long until his already exhausted body gave up completely and he sank to his knees.
Closing his eyes, he buried his face in his arms.
Too much… I can't take it… please…
~~~
Where are you?
The question repeated itself over and over in Yuki's mind.
At first, he'd told himself that the younger man would simply run to Hiro or Ryuichi to return soon, that he wouldn't take his words too serious…but soon his conscious began to state clearly that he was wrong, he'd been wrong from the beginning to shout at the boy the way he did.
More and more worried, he started to pace around his apartment, trying to think of what to do.
After seeing the terrible, empty look in Shuichi's beautiful purple eyes, he was almost certain that the wouldn't act like he normally did.
He had to find him.
Having made his decision, he hastily grabbed his coat and left his apartment.
~~~
Shuichi still hadn't moved from the place where he'd collapsed, simply sitting there, face buried in his hands.
His exhausted mind replayed again and again every single one of Yuki's words, but aside from this, his head was completely empty.
He didn't realize his physical pain at all, neither the throbbing in his head nor the aching of his limbs; nothing else mattered than his now broken heart.
He didn't reproach Yuki, no, it was himself who was unworthy of love, who was incompetent and stupid…unable to make Yuki happy…
Now finally the tears came, streaming unnoticed down his cheeks, dripping on his hands.
It had gone almost totally dark by now, and the streets were empty.
At first Shuichi didn't notice the voiced and footsteps approaching him, not until the two drunken young man were almost next to him and finally realized that he was there.
He could almost smell the reek of alcohol from their breath, yet he didn't move, even as they addressed him.
"Hey boy, what chu doing out here? It's dangerous at night, ya know!" *
One of the men,
tall and skinny, bend down swaying a little to take a closer look at the silent
youth.
"A little homeless, eh?" * His face distorted in drunken anger.
"Get away from here or we'll make ya!" *
But Shuichi, still frozen by his argument with Yuki, didn't really care what happened to him.
When the boy didn't react, the other man- smaller, yet certainly two times the other man's weight- without warning, kicked him in his stomach.
Shuichi gasped in pain, but that was the only reaction the two drunkards got from him, and so the taller man grabbed his arm and pulled him roughly to his feet.
"Ey, speak to us, ya hear?" * Again, a fist hit Shuichi, this time right into his jar, while the other man held him from behind to keep him from running- or from collapsing again.
Fortunately, the men were too drunken to do real damage, yet the punches hurt - though the pain was nothing compared to the pain raging within Shuichi's heart.
Right when the taller man was about to raise his fist for another punch, the sound of running footsteps from behind them echoed through the dark.
The drunkards looked at each other in fear.
"Shit, someone called tha cops! Let's get outta here!" * With that, the taller one let go of Shuichi's arms, and the two men stumbled away into the dark streets.
Swaying slightly, Shuichi turned to look at his unexpected rescuer- and met a pair of worried golden eyes.
"Yuki…" was the only word Shuichi managed to utter, before pain and sheer exhaustion finally took over and he collapsed again.
Yuki was stunned by the lost and forlorn look in his lover's eyes and barely managed to catch him before the unconscious pink-haired singer hit the floor, carefully holding him in his arms, taking in his appearance.
Only now did he, shocked, notice the bruises and scratches on his lover's body, the dark circles beneath his eyes which he'd overseen at home, the tear stains on his cheeks, the trembling of his body…
What had he done to him?
Why had he been so blind not to notice that Shuichi had problems himself, instead berating him for some trifling matter?
It was so easy to fall for Shuichi's cheery smile and to forget that he was also a normal youth with own insecurities, fears and problems.
Painful regret washed over Yuki, as he held the small body close, looking at those beautiful features, even in unconsciousness still tense.
He had been here in time to safe Shuichi from this drunkards, but he hadn't been able to safe him from himself…
He'd searched half the city for his young lover, the park bench and all the places he had a connection to- but Shuichi had been nowhere to be found.
Terrified, that his young lover could've done something stupid, he'd simply ran through the streets in the frantic hope to find him… when he'd heard voices from an alleyway where head finally found the one he'd looked for so desperately… but in which state?
It was his fault…
"Shuichi…" The unhappy whisper was the only sound accompanying the blond writer picking up the boy and silently carrying him home.
~~~
Anrui- silent tears
*Argh, the slang really gave me a headache… it's no piece of cake to do "drunkards' talk" if you're not too familiar with this kind of language and English isn't your mother tongue to begin with *gulps* dna18 was so kind to help (thank you again so very much ^.^) I'm still not sure if you can use it the way I did… if you know a better version or notice that I wrote crap, pleeeaase tell me!
And? Did you like it? Hate it? Please press this nice little button down there saying "review"… at the moment it looks like chapter 3 will be the last one, but like in chapter 2, things can turn out differently… we'll see, I don't know either. Depends on how the story goes, if/where I find a good ending and how much you review *grins evilly*
Greetings, Lexa
Music inspiring this chapter: Avril Lavigne "Here with you", Corey Taylor "Bother", Roxette "Listen to your heart", Toten Hosen "Unsterblich", Penicillin "Tomorrow", Pierrot "Last Letter"