"Mika, I don't mean to sound rude, but Eiri's changed a lot."

"I know. He doesn't want to be called Eiri anymore, either." Mika sighed quietly and returned her attention to the glass in her hand. She, Tohma, Noriko, K, and Ryuichi were sitting in a bar talking. After about an hour, the topic of conversation had come to Eiri. The thirteen-year-old still refused to answer to Eiri, and he still insisted on calling Tohma 'Seguchi-san'. But he had also begun calling Mika 'Mika-san'. She could still remember when he was a small child and would call her Mikarin.

"What does he want to be called again?" Ryuichi asked, looking up from the white bunny he held in his hands. [1]

"He won't answer to anything but Yuki. I still call him Eiri sometimes, but he doesn't respond to it."

()() Present Time ()()

"I remember that conversation!" Ryuichi exclaimed, hugging Kumagoro. "Eiri-chan wouldn't be nice to Mika-chan and Tohma!"

"How old were you, Ryuichi?" Tatsuha asked.

"How old was Ryu-chan, Kumagoro? Twenty-two? Okay!"

"You didn't answer to Eiri?" Shuichi asked, craning his head to look at Yuki's face. The blond man nodded and sighed, leaning into Shuichi slightly.

"After about two more years had passed, when I was fifteen, I stopped being Eiri. Everyone had begun to call me Yuki, especially when I didn't answer to anything else. Tat-chan was the only person who could still see Eiri behind Yuki. Does that make any sense at all?"

"Of course it does. I think it means something like he was the only one who could still see the real you behind the mask you hid behind."

"I guess so. Tat was nine at the time, and our father had started to play a bigger role in his life. He still came to me for anything he really needed help with, though."

()() Seven Years Earlier ()()

"Aniki?"

"What is it, Tat-chan?"

"Could you help me with this?"

"What is it?" The blond teenager stood up and walked over to the table where his brother sat. The teenager removed his glasses and set his book down, making him seem slightly more approachable. His eyes, though, were still hard enough to keep most people away from him.

"I don't understand, Aniki. It's too hard!" The dark-haired child stared at Yuki with tear-filled eyes. He had spent the past hour on the same math problem and still had no idea how it was supposed to be done. Yuki sat down next to him and picked up a pencil.

"I'm better at Writing and Grammar, but this doesn't look like it should be too hard. I'm sure we'll figure it out." Yuki smiled at Tatsuha, showing one of his rare glimpses of his true self, the self that was being buried more each year.

Within twenty minutes, Yuki had figured out and explained the problem to Tatsuha, and the younger boy was halfway done with his homework. Yuki was once again curled up on a large chair reading. There was another thirty minutes of silence while the boys were absorbed in their own pastimes. Then Tatsuha broke the silence.

"Aniki? What are we doing for Christmas this year?"

"The same thing we do every year."

"Try to take over the world?"

"You've been watching the Animaniacs too much lately."

"Yeah. So, we're just going to spend the day here?"

"Yeah, and Mika and Seguchi-san will be coming over to visit, and they'll probably bring the rest of Nittle Grasper and K with them."

"What do you want for Christmas this year?"

"Amnesia?"

"What's that?"

"It's where you forget everything."

"Why would you want to forget everything?" Tatsuha asked quietly.

"Remember what I told you about last month? The thing with Kitazawa-sensei?"

"Hai."

"I wanna forget that."

"Oh. I don't think I can get you that."

"Then how about chocolate?"

"Chocolate puffs and milk?" Tatsuha suggested. Yuki laughed and nodded.

That Christmas, Nittle Grasper and Co. did come over and visit. Ryuichi passed out candy and cards (that he had colored himself) to everyone, and then everyone else handed out their own gifts.

"Ryuichi-san?" Tatsuha asked timidly, holding a small bag behind his back. Ryuichi looked up and grinned at the boy happily. He had always liked Mika's youngest brother, he was just so cute!

"Hai? What is it, Tatsuha-chan?" Yuki was still the only one permitted to call Tatsuha by his nickname at that time.

"I got something for you." Tat shyly held out the gift bag, and Ryuichi's eyes lit up brightly. He took the bag from Tatsuha's hands and carefully opened it. Inside he saw a pink, stuffed bunny. "It's from me and Aniki. I picked it out and Aniki paid for it. I hope you like it, even though it's not white like your other one." Ryuichi's white bunny had met with an unfortunate end when it met the jaws of a dog while Nittle Grasper was performing at a park one day. Ryuichi had been devastated, and since he had a slight crush on the vocalist, Tatsuha had immediately begged Yuki to help him get a replacement.

"I love it, Tatsuha-chan! Arigatou! Demo, what should I name him?" Ryuichi and Tatsuha stared intently at the stuffed animal as if expecting the creature to tell them its name. "I got it!" Ryuichi crowed. "This is Kumagoro." Everyone in the room made the appropriate reactions and noises following this announcement, then they watched as K walked over to Yuki and sat down next to him on the couch. Ever since the child had returned from America, he hadn't been very festive, and he usually ended up sullen at all social gatherings.

"Yuki-chan, I got you this. It could help you vent any anger or frustrations you may be feeling." Yuki looked up at K and the square package the American was holding out to him. He tentatively reached out and grasped the box, staring at it for some moments before beginning to unwrap it.

"A… laptop?"

"Yes. You could write out any of the feelings you have that you don't want to talk about. It could help you… heal." K had to choose his words carefully, because anything could set Yuki off in one of his fits. Ryuichi jumped up and looked over Yuki's shoulder at the laptop.

"It's so shiny!" Yuki grimaced and shoved Ryuichi off of himself. He hated being toughed by anyone, and only permitted even a hand on his shoulder – or his own hand on someone else's shoulder – if it was Tatsuha. Even being in close proximity was enough to make Yuki nervous. Tatsuha sat next to him on the couch and leaned over slightly, careful not to invade his brother's personal space.

"What kinda stuff are you going to write on it, Aniki?"

"I don't know."

()() Present Time ()()

"Is that when you started your first novel?"

"No. I actually started with short stories for Tat-chan and worked up from there after I got my own place."

"Wow. How old were you when that happened?"

"Older than thirteen." Yuki stood up and headed to the kitchen.

"What, are you just going to leave it at that?" Shuichi demanded, following him. Before he had left the room, Yuki stuck his head back in and smirked at him.

"No. My throat's getting dry from all of the talking. I need something to drink. Anyone else want something?"

"What do you have?" Tatsuha asked.

"Um… water, beer, milk, Shuichi's juices, and tea. We also have some cold coffee left over from this morning."

"Could I have some water?"

"Sure."

"Ryu-chan and Kumagoro want juice!"

"Can you share a cup?"

"Hai!"

"Good. I'm not giving a stuffed rabbit its own cup."

()() Five Years Earlier ()()

"Aniki? Aniki where are you? Aniki?" Tatsuha wandered throughout the house, calling for his older brother, but receiving no answer. Their father was out shopping or something along those lines, and Tatsuha wanted to talk to Eiri about something. He had hoped that the lack of their father might make Eiri more willing to talk to him about it, but his brother could not be found. The eleven-year-old headed into forbidden territory – Eiri's room.

It's not that he wasn't allowed in there, it was just that Eiri seemed to want everyone to stay out of his room unless they asked and received his permission first. He had gotten into a yelling match with their father on more than one occasion concerning this little quirk of his. He had even gotten into a fistfight with Tohma about it.

Tatsuha pushed opened the door and stopped dead. There were only two things in Eiri's room. One was his computer desk – which had seen a lot of attention since he had received his laptop – and a small note on top of the desk. Tatsuha walked over to the desk and picked up the note, noticing that it was addressed to him He opened it and saw Eiri's neat, tiny script filling the paper.

Tat-chan,

I'm sorry, but I have to leave. I can't stand being in this place any longer. Don't worry about me, I've already got my own place and a way to get to work. I've already paid the first few months for the place with the money I made on those stories I've been writing. Did I tell you that I had them published? Apparently people like my endings.

The only reason I left now is because I know Father will take care of you. Ever since I went to New York he's really begun to pay more attention to you. I'm glad of that at least. Don't worry, I won't be going too far, and I can still get in touch with you if you need me. Mika and Seguchi-san know where I live, and they'll be able to relay any messages to you from me or vice versa. I'm not really leaving you, though, I promise. If I could stay in that house I would, but I need to get out. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to say a real goodbye to you, but I didn't want to still be here when Father got back, and I have no idea when you'll be getting home from school.

Don't forget to eat and take care of yourself. I'm sure Father won't let you die, but I want to at least remind you myself. I love you, Tat-chan. Take care.

- Yuki (Eiri/Aniki)

Tatsuha set the note down and cried. He had just managed to dry his eyes when his father walked in the door. His father didn't seem too upset that his older son had left, even though said son was only seventeen. Tatsuha immediately wrote a note to Eiri asking about why he couldn't wait just a little longer, or why he couldn't have said goodbye the day before. The next day he delivered the note to Mika, who took it to Yuki.

After almost a year of corresponding through Mika and Tohma via letters, Tatsuha received a letter saying that not only had Yuki moved, but he was inviting Tatsuha over to visit him when he got settled in. The twelve-year-old was overjoyed that he would get to see his brother again.

~

"Aniki, it's so big!" Yuki smirked at his younger brother's reaction. It was the first time the brothers had seen one another in just over a year, and Tatsuha was obsessing over the size of the eighteen-year-old's house. "Have Oneesan and Tohma seen it yet?"

"Mika has. Seguchi-san has been busy with Nittle Grasper lately. I've heard that they're thinking of splitting up, so I assume he's trying to get everything either in order, or he's trying to keep everything together."

"I guess that would make sense. Has he been bothering you lately?"

"Not really. He still gives me those creepy looks, though."

"What creepy looks?"

"The same ones Kitazawa gave me the night I killed him. Only not as menacing."

"Oh. Have you asked him to stop?"

"He doesn't give me as many as before, so I think he's falling back in love with Mika."

"Hey, Aniki? How do you pay for this place?"

"My novels."

"You write novels?"

"Mm. I've got two of them out already and another one being written right now."

"I've never seen them."

"That's because they aren't found in the Manga section."

"That's not the only place I look!"

"They aren't in a Ryuichi Sakuma shrine, either."

"I'm not that obsessed!"

Yuki laughed and spoke in a falsetto. "Oh, Ryuichi! Please accept the shirt off my back! You got two drops of water on you from the sprinklers you insisted on running through and now you're soaked! You can't get sick!" Yuki and Tatsuha both collapsed in laughter, Tatsuha smacking Yuki lightly for teasing him about his crush.

()() Present Time ()()

The story was interrupted by a doorbell. Shuichi stood up to answer it. He opened the door to find Mika standing there with her hands on her hips. "Is Eiri home?" Shuichi nodded and led the woman into the living room.

"What do you want, Mika?"

"You were supposed to meet Tohma and me for dinner three hours ago!"

"I got sidetracked."

"Why didn't you answer your phone? We've been calling for the past two and-a-half hours! Oh, hello Tatsuha, Ryuichi." Ryuichi nodded in greeting, then turned his attention to Kumagoro, talking to the bunny because the lack of story was making him bored.

"Hi, Oneesan! Aniki was just telling us about how he raised me!"

"Please just be quiet, Tatsuha. I didn't answer the phone because they've all been unplugged."

"Why would you unplug the phone?"

"This is Shuichi's only week off. I don't want it to be ruined by my editor calling at five in the morning. Besides, he's going on tour in two weeks, I'll have plenty of time to be annoyed by the phone then."

"When did you guys get to such a good relationship?" Shuichi asked, head cocked slightly to one side.

"What do you mean?" Mika questioned, wondering what he was talking about.

"Well, at the last part in the story, you and Yuki weren't really on more than speaking terms." Mika raised an eyebrow and looked to Yuki for an explanation, but he only leaned back and lit a cigarette.

"After she stopped making me go to therapy, I started getting along with her. It'll never be the same as it was when our mother was still alive, but that's to be expected."

()() Four Years Earlier ()()

"So tell me, in your own words, why you're here." Yuki looked at the man as if he were the dumbest man on the planet.

"I'm here because my nosy sister and her husband forced me to come."

"They can't have forced you."

"You obviously don't know them very well."

"Did they hold a gun to your head to make you come?"

"No."

"Then they didn't force you."

"I wasn't finished yet. They didn't, but they had their friend K do it."

"Their friend held a gun to your head and forced you to come?"

"Yes. If you don't believe me just open the door. There will be two blond men and a brunette woman. The taller blond will look American and he'll be holding at least one large gun." The doctor looked out the door, and saw exactly what his patient had described.

"Alright then, tell me in your own words why you think they made you come."

"They think I'm suffering from 'Social withdrawal due to a traumatic incident I have yet to come to terms with'."

"And you do not agree with them?"

"I'm antisocial because of a conscious choice. I don't like people."

"But you agree that you are suffering from a traumatic incident in your past?"

"No. It helps me."

"How can a traumatic incident help you?"

"It gives me a lot of things to use when I write."

~

"I'm sorry, but I cannot deal with him. If he has no desire to be helped, then he makes it almost impossible to help."

"So you're giving up on him?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I believe his record says that he has been to eight psychiatrists for this reason?"

"Yes."

"That should be a clue that he does not want to be helped."

"But you're giving up on him after only ten minutes!"

"I'm sorry," the doctor repeated and walked away. Yuki stood around the corner from them, and he smirked, hearing the defeat in his sister and brother-in-law's voices. He knew that they would leave him alone after this incident.

~

"Eiri, we're just trying to help you!"

"Don't call me Eiri!"

"If you won't go to therapy, then I'll call you Eiri. The moment you start going back to therapy I'll start calling you Yuki again. Got it?"

"Fine, Mika-san." Mika hung her head, upset that she had let her brother bait her again. She seemed to always be arguing with him, and she could never understand why.

"Eiri-san, please be kinder to your sister," Tohma requested gently from the driver's seat.

"Anything you say, Seguchi-san." Yuki's voice was bitter and resentful, so much so that it stung both of the older people into silence. The next day all of Yuki's therapy appointments were cancelled. The only thing Tohma and Mika requested was that Yuki meet with them once a week.

It was during one of those weeks that he began to get along with Mika. Suddenly their arguing became more playful bickering and less anger-filled. By the end of that year, they had reached an understanding – if unstable – point in their relationship. By that time, Yuki was nineteen, and Tatsuha was thirteen.

()() Present Time ()()

"That was the year Nittle Grasper broke up. It was just getting to be too hard on all of them. Noriko wanted to go to college, if only to see if she could make it. Tohma wanted to concentrate his attention on a project he was working on – which later became known as NG. Ryuichi and K took that opportunity to make Ryuichi big in the United States.

"I went back home that year, too. It was my first time back in two years. Tatsuha was thrilled, but our father looked as though he would rather be selling his soul than seeing me. Needless to say, I didn't stay too long."

"Have you been to see your father since then?" Shuichi asked.

"Only when I was about to marry Ayaka. That was the first and last time since I went to visit when I was nineteen."

"Do you plan on going back anytime soon?" Tatsuha asked.

"Not if I can help it."

"Why don't you get along?" Shuichi asked.

"That's one thing I refuse to talk about."

"Oh."

"Is that all for tonight? Kumagoro's tired!" Yuki checked his watch, and sat up in surprise, knocking Shuichi off his lap.

"It's two a.m.?"

"No wonder I'm tired," Tatsuha commented.

"When did Mika-san leave?" Shuichi questioned.

"At around nine last night. She said she had to get home."

"Oh. Is that what she was saying? I though she had to go to the bathroom."

"Go to bed, Ryu-chan."

"'Kay!"

Everyone said their goodnights and found a place to sleep. Shuichi promised himself that he would see Yuki and Tatsuha's father soon and ask him about why he never seemed to care about his middle child.

~ To Be Continued... ~

A/N: How did you like it? There should be another chapter or two, so don't worry, I will explain things. I never thought I could get this far in an under-developed Gravi fic! Would you believe I still haven't written up a storyline? All I'm going on for this story is the three paragraphs I typed up to help me remember where I'm supposed to be going with it! So please tell me what you think! Reviews are always welcome! The merrier, the more welcome they are! ^^

[1] – Yes, I know he has a pink bunny.