disclaimer: gravitation is not, never was, and never will be mine; nor is it midori-chan's, sad to say. i weep.

note: the third gravitation character appearing in this chapter was written by midori-chan as well. show her some love. :)

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            Eiri set his jaw firmly and headed back out to the main streets, boy and bunny cradled carefully in his arms. When he reached a populated area once again, one arm disengaged just long enough to hail a cab. Upon entering, he directed the driver with the first use of English since his arrival in London: "Take me to the nearest hospital." The cabbie eyed Ryuichi, then nodded smartly and headed off. Eiri stared out the window in silence, reluctant to look at the broken man in his arms.

            *See, and this is what you get for telling him. A person to pity you. Oh, pooor Saaakumaaa-saaan...you poor thing...right...* |Peh, you don't deserve the pity. Like you were a victim. He only told the truth.| (But...but I'm normal....really... *sob*) |Quit crying, you selfish bastard. You deserve all of what was coming to you.| (I'm innocent...really...) *...as innocent as an asassin...* (...Eiri-san said....) *When did he ever say you were normal? He just changed the subject.* |That's right...| (...please don't do this to me...)

            After driving in silence for a few moments, Eiri stole a glance at the man in his arms. Why did he come to me? I wonder why he didn't go to Ukai-san or Tohma... Well, I suppose it's a good thing he didn't go to Tohma, but still. Reluctantly, he tore his eyes away as the cab pulled to a stop.

            "That'll be seventeen, sir..."

            Eiri cut the man off by handing him a wad of money which, while probably much more than required, had the advantage of not having to be counted. "Thanks," he muttered, and got out of the cab, heading for the emergency room. It was not long at all before he bore Ryuichi through the sliding glass doors and settled down to wait.

            *Nyah ha ha ha....Sakuma-san's going insaaaneee... he's going to hurt Yuuuuki like he did Shuu-chan.....* (I...I didn't hurt him...) *Of course you did! Why do you think Shuu's arm was bleeding? Why do you think you were the one holding the knife? And now you're distracting Yuki while Shuichi could be getting raped or killed? Tch, tch....you bastard...* (I DIDN'T DO IT!!!) Ryuichi let out a small whimper and clasped his hand around Eiri's shirt again. "Stop it..."

            Yuki's eyes focused reluctantly, dragging themselves away from their blank stare and settling on Ryuichi with detached concern, if there is such a thing. "Stop what...? Sakuma-san, are you all right?"

            "No...no, I'm fine." He smiled. "I'm perfectly fine." |That's right, Sakuma-san--don't tell--...| *We won't tell if you won't...* ~That you're cwazy~~! Kee hee hee hee! ~

            Eiri's eyes narrowed, but he responded only with a grunt of assent, eyes turning back to the wall once again. Damn it all... this is so frustrating! I know he's hiding things from me, and he still hasn't said a word about Shuichi... but how can I confront him about it? It'll only make things worse. One hand reached up absently to wipe sweat off of his brow, though that had become so commonplace that Yuki didn't even notice the habitual action.

            Moments later, a nurse was with them, and Yuki explained in heavily accented English that his friend had slipped and fallen in the rain. The nurse shook her head in sympathy and told them that the doctor would be with them shortly.

            Moments later, a man stepped out and called, "Ryuichi Sakuma...?" He mispronounced the name horribly, of course, and Yuki muttered the correction under his breath while carefully placing Ryuichi on his feet. "They're going to take care of your arm, and then we will... fix things," he told his companion in a low voice.

            Ryuichi bit the nails on his broken hand while coddling Kumagorou with the other. "...And you're not coming with me?" he asked in a childish tone, as a young kid would ask its mother permission to do something.

            Yuki frowned slightly at the action and replied, as if distracted, "...Should I?" While speaking, his hand was drawn subconsciously to his jacket pocket, fingering the medication which would push the memories away, if only for a moment... if only he could get a chance to take it. Not that he'd ever let Ryuichi see that.

            "Mm…" The vocalist looked over uneasily at the doctor, then at Eiri's hand in his pocket, as if something the novelist had done clicked in Ryuichi's muddled mind. "No, I'm okay..." Another inane smile and he started towards the doctor tenaciously.

            Yuki looked after him until he was out of sight then glided over to the nurse to make payment arrangements. As soon as the business was settled (money might not be able to buy him happiness, but it still made trips to London less of a hassle), he asked to be shown the washroom. Once inside, he placed his hands on either side of the sink, leaning over it with a shudder as his masks crumbled to dust. He wiped sweat from his forehead again, fumbling for the medicine bottle.

            Eiri swallowed the pills without water and stared at his face in the mirror, waiting for the drugs to take effect. Even he had to admit that he looked like death—pale and drawn, empty eyes gazing hollowly back at him from the glass. Where are you, Shuichi...? he caught himself thinking. Images flooded his mind and he gasped, squeezing his eyes shut as he leaned against the sink for support. Eventually, the deluge subsided, and he steadied himself. After a few minutes, he was able to walk out and resume his place in the waiting room.

            Meanwhile, Ryuichi was regarding the doctor suspiciously as the man eyed the broken wrist and lesions upon the boy's body. "Must have been an awful fall, hm?" The doctor tried to lighten the dark mood of the room with light, British conversation, but Ryuichi kept his dead sapphire eyes fixed on his, slashing any further words the doctor was going to say to his unwilling patient.

            Giving up on communication, the doctor grasped the singer's wrist in his hand and carefully wrenched the bone back into place. Ryuichi yelped, glared at him moodily, and tried to snatch his hand away, but he was restrained by the sheer force of the doctor's grip. Suddenly frightened again, he smacked the doctor away with his good hand and propelled himself—right out the window of the two-story building. He slammed into the nearby bushes with a snap and, registering something else was broken but not really caring, he fled the hospital as fast as his poor legs could take him. The voices cackled in malignant whispers in his head as his body, covered in cuts and bruises, as he ran to the only place he can think of for safety—The London Concert Hall.

            Slumped in the waiting room, head cradled in his hand, Yuki heard the exclamations of surprise and concern from behind the door. He barely had time to narrow his eyes and look up before one of the nurses burst out into the room, babbling something about "Mr. Sakuma... the window..." Cursing profusely in as many languages as he can think of (though notably not in English), Yuki jumped to his feet and sprinted out of the hospital before the security guards could stop him. Once there, the commotion in Ryuichi's wake set him on the right track and he started to run as fast as he could. Shit... shit... shit! I shouldn't have left him alone...

            Coming to a busy intersection, he lost the trail and had no choice but to grab a man roughly by the arm and gasp out, "A man... running... which way did he go?" The Englishman was too startled by his presence and appearance to do anything more than point, and as Yuki ran, geography suddenly clicked into place. The concert hall... that's it, over there. He wanted me to go there before--maybe he's there now. Eiri dashed through the crowd, barely managing to avoid slipping on the wet pavement, and finally threw open the door of his destination.

            He was greeted by the sight of Tohma backing Ryuichi into a far corner of the stage, hands pressed against the sides of Ryuichi's shoulders and pinning him to the wall, as the vocalist stared wide into his bandmate's eyes. Tohma was whispering something close into Ryuichi's ear—it seemed rather too close for the singer's liking. Ryuichi's face drained and he slumped against the wall, leaving Tohma to keep whispering in his ear.

            Yuki blinked, stumbling a little as he came to an abrupt halt just inside the doorway. This was definitely the last thing he expected to see. "T-toh..." he gasped out, but further speech was arrested as the novelist suddenly doubled over in pain, coughing loudly. His hands flew to his mouth as he reeled backwards, suddenly dizzy, and flecks of blood sprayed the floor.

            "EIRI-SAN!!" Ryuichi screamed jerking forward, but he was quickly caught in the hands of Tohma, who restrained the broken boy with his hands and stared at the novelist with ice cool eyes. "...Eiri-san."

            Eiri could make no reply, though he dearly wished to. He could only stare at the other blonde with wide, pain-filled eyes, a mixture of hurt and betrayal that hadn't been seen on this face in quite some time. When last it was, though... Tohma was there. Eiri fell to his knees, one hand outstretched to steady his shaking body against the floor, the other still clasped across his mouth as he spat blood, unable to stop the coughing fit.

            Tohma made his way towards Yuki, turquoise eyes burning, leading Ryuichi by a gloved hand strongly gripped around his broken wrist. When the two reached Eiri, the vocalist dropped to his knees in an attempt to pull himself away from Tohma. "Eiri-san..." He barely touched a golden thread of the novelist's hair before Tohma jerked his broken wrist backwards. "Get away from him." The words were cold, harsh, and biting to Ryuichi. He mashed his petal lips together and fell back away from the two, eyes glittering fiercely with unshed tears.

            Tohma knelt down and embraced the coughing man in his lithe arms, whispering softly, "It's okay, Eiri-san..." Eiri jerked backwards, away from the older man, struggling to control the spasms of his body. Narrowed eyes glittered with emotion (though which emotion was entirely unclear) and he spat out words along with the blood. "What... the hell... is going on here?!"

            Tohma appeared rather surprised... although with Tohma, no emotion was certain. "...Um? Going on?" Behind the calm record producer Ryuichi was toppling over himself scrambling backwards, panting heavily through his half-open mouth.

            Eiri's temper finally snapped. Stress, worry, surprise, confusion, and a healthy dose of resurfacing memories combined to crack his cold exterior, if only for a moment. "Yes, going on! What are you doing here, and with Sakuma-san... and where the HELL is Shuichi?!?" Blood sprayed from his mouth in tiny droplets as he spoke, but the worst convulsions seemed to have subsided.

            Ryuichi reached a hand out, trying desperately to calm the dry hiccups heaving from his chest and also trying to assuage Eiri in some way. "We don't know, Eiri-san..." Tohma shot a glare at him, and Ryuichi immediately retracted his hand and scrambled farther into the darkness.

            Eiri looked from one man to the other and back again, calming slightly as he regained control of his body. His eyes glanced momentarily in the direction of a forgotten pink bundle, abandoned in a filthy puddle, and a slight frown drifted across his face before the controlled anger resumed its place. His voice, when he spoke, was low and measured, the calmness an unsettling contrast to his coldly sparkling eyes. "All right. Enough of these games. One of you tell me everything that is going on, from the beginning. I don't care who."

            Ryuichi opened his mouth, yet Tohma's voice emerged from the silence. "Sakuma-san nearly killed Shuichi. He was put in a mental hospital for two months, but then mysteriously disappeared. As soon as I heard about it, I called Ryuichi on the only place I knew where to call..." He shot a glance at the trembling boy. "On his cell."

*     *     *     *     *

            "Sakuma-san?!?!" Tohma couldn't believe Ryuichi had actually picked up.

            "Ano....Seguchi-san..."

            The NG producer cut his bandmate off, snapping into the phone, "Where the HELL are you?! You're not in the institution???"

            Ryuichi's words came slowly, almost haltingly, with no connection whatsoever to Tohma's question. "Hi...how are you? F-fine...? Good, that's good to know..."

             Tohma blinked. "What...the hell...Ryuichi....?"

            "Where...where am I?"

            The singer took the words right out of his mouth. "That's right, where are you? You need to come back here, and get treatment. You're mentally unstable."

            "I'm going out!"

            "No, you are certainly NOT going out!!! Get back here this instant, goddamnit!! You're going to HURT someone!"

            Ryuichi's voice trembled only slightly. "Where…?" It was like they were having two different conversations. "Out...with Kumagorou!"

            "GODDAMNIT, RYUICHI!!! WHERE ARE YOU??!?!?"

            "Alright, I won't be out too late...heh..."

            "Where ar—"

            "Sankyuu, Seguchi-san."

            Click.

*     *     *     *     *

            I should have known. I should have known better than to trust him, even then… I should have known better than to trust anyone. But it's too late now. Eiri's coldly blazing eyes turned to Ryuichi, but when he spoke, it was directed at Tohma. "How is it that Shuichi's condition is known but his location is not? If he were nearly killed, I find it doubtful that he would be able to escape you. Therefore you must know where he is. Something doesn't add up." Sakuma-san inhaled sharply when Eiri's eyes met his, and quickly exhaled in a hacking, sickly cough that died out suddenly as Tohma hit him with a glare. Eiri's eyes flickered to the pink bunny once more, but they returned to Sakuma-san so quickly that one might wonder if he really looked away at all.

            The producer answered Eiri's thinly-veiled accusation. "I had no idea Shuichi was missing. I only came here to find Sakuma-san—I just learned about this."

            Eiri nodded. Figures this would be the one time he doesn't know everything. His tone shifted, words focusing in the same direction as his unwavering gaze. "Why did you come to London, Sakuma-san? And why did you bring me?"

            "...B-because....because..." Ryuichi's eyes flickered frightfully from blonde to blonde as a tear caressed his trembling cheeks. "I thought… Eiri-san would understand... that Eiri-san would help Sakuma-san..."

            Could that be... compassion in the tired, gold-green eyes? Was there a hint of concern? Did his brows dip in just the slightest frown? "Why did you run from the doctors, Ryuichi? They were only going to fix your wrist." For the moment, he was completely ignoring Seguchi Tohma. Shuichi was still prominent in his thoughts, but something told him that the key to finding Shuu-chan was in the poor, broken mind of the 'boy' before him. And then there was that bit of compassion... though Yuki would undoubtedly deny it to his dying day.

            "I...he...he hurt me..." Ryuichi tucked his legs up underneath his arms, rocking himself back and forth; a solitary, comforting motion. "He hurt me." A cough, as the vocalist's hands flew to his ribcage. "Mmmhh... it hurts..."

            Yuki sighed, seeming to deflate as his head sank into his hand. I thought I left things like this behind me. I thought I could finally live my life without... things... like this. I'm so tired. So... tired... Resuming his blank demeanor with an effort, he stood, walked over, and gathered Sakuma-san into his arms, picking up the plushie as well. He turned to face Tohma. "I will handle this. Go home, Tohma." Carefully, he placed the much-abused bunny in Ryuichi's arms and turned towards the door.

            "Demo... Eiri-san..." Tohma raised a hand to object, but was silenced by something inside his head clicking to the situation at hand. His hand fell placidly to his side and he stood up, dusting off his stylish black velvet pants. "Fine. But..." He turned his gaze to Ryuichi, nestled in Eiri's arms. "If he tries to hurt anyone again, he's going straight back to that mental hospital where he can get some real treatment. Understood?"

            The writer looked impassive as ever, but his tone was one of controlled anger—though the emotion was not directed at Tohma or, indeed, anyone in the room, save possibly Eiri himself. "Don't worry. He won't be hurting anyone." It's not a promise. It's a threat.

            "Hn." Tohma brushed his hair behind his ear, muttering something under his breath about how he wished he was mentally fucked up so that Eiri-san would carry him in his arms. You may think you know what you're doing, but I'm not going to stop protecting you. I failed once; it won't happen again. With this final thought he turned on his heel and left the two together, eyes swirling with some enigmatic emotion scientists have yet to classify.

            Ryuichi's bony fingers, caged with a plethora of rings, wrapped themselves about his dear, abused, plush bunny. He grinned serenely up at Eiri, lashes shadowing bright, hurting sapphire eyes. "Sankyuu, Eiri-san."

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at long, long last… chapter 6!! rejoice! rejoice for the new chapter, for the end of my finals, and for all-around goodness. you know you want to. ^______________^ sorry this one took so long, but the aforementioned finals were eating my soul. x.x  future updates ought to be completed with alacrity.

next chapter: the hospital strikes again, our intrepid heroes (antiheroes…?) have a little discussion, and one of ryuichi's voices reveals a secret that will shock both eiri and himself… stay tuned!

once again, a million thanks go out to everyone who has reviewed the story so far. mad props to ayako for reviewing every chapter! we love you. all of you. you rule. keep it coming!

-vethia & midori-chan