disclaimer: if i owned gravi, i would not be anywhere near as desperate for a job as i am now. -_-

note: the new character appearing in this chapter was also written by midori-chan, though i went back and added some bits during the edit for the sake of continuity. enjoy!

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            As Eiri began to slump, a voice slowly unfolded into the void of numbness. That which is possessed, but cannot be seen; comes in many forms, yet remains fundamentally the same... you have it, don't you, Eiri Uesugi? As much as you deny it, as often as you hide it, you can't help but keep it... you cannot help but have faith. You believed in Sakuma-san, even when Tohma told you what he did to Shuichi, and you still believe that you can find him. That's what Ryuichi's riddle means. Go to the house of faith.

            Eiri's head jerked up, eyes widening with sudden understanding as he whispered into the darkness. "Faith..." With newfound resolve, he jerked himself to his feet. "A church. We have to find the nearest church. That's where Shuichi is."

            Ryuichi seemed shocked by this sudden revelation, his topaz-set eyes glimmering with hope. "You... think?" His hands gripped his K-chan as he slowly planted his feet on the ground in another attempt to stand up.

            "Yeah. Come on, we have to hurry." Eiri started towards the door, then glanced backwards. "Can you walk...?"

            "Yeah." Ryuichi pressed his hands against the wall, eyes shining with determination—almost as if his soul had been renewed through Eiri's simple words. He nodded and stood up, shakily at first, and then walked assuredly over to Eiri. "I'm ready to go!" He gave the writer a thumbs-up and a grin.

            This new confidence seemed to please Eiri. "Good," he replied, and pushed open the concert hall door once again. Out on the street, he stopped, looking from side to side rather helplessly, then turned back to Ryuichi. "I... don't know London well. Do you know where there is a church?"

            "Yup~" With a glimmer shimmering on the tips of his fingers, he pointed to a slim cross jutting out from atop the high-rising buildings. "C'mon, Eiri-san!" He waved his hand over in the direction of the church and began to pick up a steady run.

            Eiri followed, urgent now, running after the singer through the darkened streets of London. Please, let me be right... Shuu-chan... A lump started to form in his throat and was quickly suppressed. Gritting his teeth, he ran a little faster.

            It seemed like only moments before the two reached their destination. Dwarfed by the doors, Ryuichi pressed hard against one, and nearly fell into the monstrous church, bathed in an eerie rose light. Nothing was there save for the light, a huge cross at the altar, and pews running up and down the sides of the church. 

            Eiri came in behind the singer and slowed to a halt, looking around. His voice was low, the habit of deference impossible to break. "Where is he...?" Turning slowly, he faced Ryuichi. "One of you has to know."

            "Somewhere dark..." Ryuichi stared down the aisle. A tremor shook his body. "Behind the altar."

            Eiri broke into a run again, pelting down the aisle, leaving the singer behind. A brief hesitation caught him just in front of the altar, but he shook it off quickly and stepped towards the wooden pedestal. Ryuichi tried to scramble up after Eiri, but he was stopped by cold metal pressed against his temple. He gasped, clutching blindly at the arms that gripped him from behind, feet beating against the floor in what was ultimately a futile effort to break free.

            The sounds of the scuffle jerked Eiri's head around just before he could look behind the altar. What the hell...? His eyes widened as he discerned a familiar face. Aizawa Tachi... I should have known! So quickly that his surprise was barely recognizable as such, any 'weak' emotion was resolved into a blank mask, giving way to the cold, hard expression in narrowed eyes. 

            "Don't move...Yuki Eiri." Aizawa pressed the gun harder to the side of the NG singer's head, the business end nestled softly in the chocolate-haired boy's eardrum. Ryuichi was shaking violently, staring at Eiri with blank, wet eyes, hands squeezing his Kumagorou so tight that its eyes could have very well popped out of its head.

            Eiri ground his teeth but remained still. When he spoke, the voice was one which Ryuichi has not heard practically since their arrival in London—the cold, emotionless tones of the novelist's 'public' persona. His eyes were flashing, a direct contrast to the flat sound of his voice—save, perhaps, that both were quite obviously dangerous. "What are you doing here?"

            "I could ask you the same thing." Aizawa's voice was tense and guarded. He knelt beside Ryuichi and whispered, in a voice loud enough so Eiri could hear, "...do you know why Eiri's here?" His eyes flashed back at Eiri, never leaving the novelist's face for a moment, as if he was speaking to the blonde man instead of to his captive.

            Bastard couldn't look away for so much as a second... damn it! Eiri's eyes flickered to the alter for a mere fraction of a second. He wished he could move just far enough to see behind it... but Aizawa still had that gun, and Eiri couldn't move while ASK's lead singer had Nittle Grasper's corresponding component at gunpoint.

            I need a distraction... something, anything, to get me closer to him. The familiar bulge beneath his coat seemed somehow more prominent than ever before, though he was well aware that no one but he could possibly discern its existence. Clenching his jaw with a silent apology to Sakuma-san, Eiri held his peace to allow Aizawa time to play his mind games. Overconfident little fuck is bound to slip up. It's only a matter of time...

            Ryuichi buried his face in Kumagorou and whispered shakily, "I...d-don't know..."

            "Wrong answer." Aizawa cocked the gun and shoved it farther into Ryuichi's ear. Blood dribbled from the point of contact, staining the barrel of the gun a dull red. Aizawa's eyes held Eiri's throughout, deep and dark and intense.

            You little fuck. Carefully keeping anything but deadly, dangerous amusement out of his voice, Eiri twisted his lips in a cold smile. "Really, Tachi-kun. I thought you had a bit more class than this."

            Taking a gamble, Eiri flowed forward one small step, timing it to coincide with his speech so that Aizawa might not notice the movement. "You and Sakuma-san have no business with one another. Whatever would you need him for?"

            "He works with that bastard, Seguchi-san... he represents the competition ASK has for center stage..." Aizawa seemed to take, perhaps, a moment longer than he ought to come up with these answers, but there was no question as to the anger in his voice when he used Tohma's name. The emotion was quickly suppressed, however, as Aizawa continued his speech with a slightly odd tone—almost as if it were more of a question than a statement. "…and he seems to be getting in your way, Eiri-san."

            Aizawa's eyes narrowed slightly, as if searching for some response in Eiri's face. When he found none, he pressed on, slightly more forceful. "I thought I might take him AND his miserable little voices out of your life—forever." Still no response. Eiri just stared at him, cold with anger, seeing nothing but melodrama.

            With a low growl of frustration, Aizawa snapped out, "You shouldn't be mad at me—you should be thanking me, Eiri-san!" Ryuichi whimpered suddenly, the blood beginning to drip upon Kumagorou's face, smearing its smiling expression with an eerie cinnabar. Aizawa's lips snapped shut at the noise and he pressed the gun harder against Ryuichi's head, almost in desperation.

            Caught up in Aizawa's words, Eiri failed to notice the other man's actions. His mind was working a mile a minute. How the hell does he know about that?!? Does everyone know about Ryuichi except me? It was a credit to Eiri's composure that his expression did not change in the slightest; what with the thoughts running through his head, something ought to have show on the outside, but the writer was too well-controlled for that.

            Eiri was paying enough attention to see that Aizawa was reasonably distracted, however. In light of this, he coupled his next phrase with another step forward, advancing on the man with the gun. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Tachi-kun. Sakuma-san and I are traveling around London."

            Aizawa snarled in frustration, but Eiri ignored it. Another step, accompanied by a smirk. "And if you think you can hurt him and get away with it.... really, show a bit of sense. Do you honestly think Seguchi-san will agree to pick up ASK again if you harm his lead singer?" He took another step. "And who do you really expect to take on a band which has been dropped from NG's promotion lineup...?"

            At this, Tachi flinched a bit, as if Eiri had hit a nerve. He twisted the gun against the captive's ear even more, making him cry out in pain. Tears began to fall now, as Ryuichi started to sob into his bunny. Aizawa ignored the plaintive cries, still concentrating on Eiri. "You're only hurting him!"

            Eiri stopped short. It was a strain to keep up the smiling facade, but he did so, even twisting the smirk a little farther. "Think about it, Tachi-kun. You would do well to let Sakuma-san be and save your reputation with Seguchi Tohma. Now get going. You're wasting my time..." He dropped the smile quite suddenly, eyes flashing with palpable threat. "...and I don't like people who waste my time."

            Tachi grimaced. You dumb fuck… can't you listen for once instead of getting so damned defensive?! He dragged Ryuichi to his feet, raising his voice a decibel, and played his hidden card. "I know where Shuichi is! Don't you dare act like you've won anything yet, Yuki Eiri!" The words seemed strangely distant, as if even as he spoke them, Aizawa had ceased to assign importance to their meaning.

            To Eiri, however, the words meant everything. That... BASTARD... If there had been any way that Eiri's eyes could become more cold, more dangerous, or more menacing, they did so. His voice trembled with rage, though the tone was low and threatening. "I think you remember what happened last time you hurt Shuu-chan..." He took a step forward in spite of himself, unable to hold his ground when the air crackled with such tension.

            Ryuichi had not noticed Eiri's steps, or if he had, he made no sign that he did. Inwardly, his mind was once again becoming a mess of voices and shouting, and complete chaos, as the only thing that was truly real to him was the gun wedged firmly to his skull. Everything else seemed to fade into the abyss... it all seemed so... distorted.

            He could hear Tachi speaking something cold and curt back to Eiri, but it only registered in his head like the hum of a cooling fan in a hot summer's breeze. Some conscious thought in his head told him that he'd taken in too much stress... too much... and he wanted so badly for this to end. His eyes grew darker and muddier with each passing second as Tachi spoke to Eiri, the gun pressing harder and harder against his throbbing ear.

            The more Eiri talked, the less Aizawa seemed to notice his movements. The writer felt like he was walking on a tightrope, trying desperately to keep his balance with just the right balance of threat and prodding while avoiding the chasams of failure on either side. His brain was racing for things to say. A little closer... just a little closer....

            It was much easier to approach the singers with small, cautious steps, timed to coincide with each new threat his mouth rattled off without help from his brain. He must know... he must know that he has the upper hand. I'm too far away.... But Tachi didn't seem to know, or at any rate, he didn't realize the exact nature of his position. Eiri hoped fervently that this meant he was still as imposing as ever.

            Aizawa, for his part, was doing his level best to respond to each new threat, keeping his grip on Ryuichi with his left arm and clutching the gun with his right hand. Ryuichi was so small that Aizawa's arm could slip easily around his waist, and the ASK singer thanked several sets of gods when he found that he could just reach his right pocket across Ryuichi's body.

            Eiri could sense his adversary's distraction and took advantage of it. Almost there.... yes. Close enough, now, that with a quick motion he could nearly touch the other man, Yuki stopped, keeping his eyes locked on Aizawa's as his hand reached surreptitiously under his jacket. He's not crazy enough to actually hurt Sakuma-san. Even he must realize how monumentally stupid that would be. Tachi's career is more important to him than anything. He's not so far gone that he'll endanger that for the sake of revenge... is he....?

            Tachi suddenly noticed Eiri's proximity and stepped back slightly, again pressing the gun into Ryuichi as if a sudden fear had overtaken him. The NG vocalist let out a small gasp, and plummeted headfirst into a well of his own voices. *Ryuichi, what do you wish for, more than anything?* (I wish... I wish Eiri could see Shuu-chan again...) *What do you think is preventing him from seeing him right now...?* (...I am...) *What do you think got Eiri into this situation?* (I did...it was... all my fault...) *And how do you think you'll EVER get rid of us?* (...I only know one way... It'll solve everything.)

            Ever so slowly, while Aizawa and Eiri were both distracted, he reached behind Tachi to rest a hand upon the man's waist as yet another, as yet unseen personality kicked in. His eyes ran torrents as he spoke in a soft voice. "Aizawa-san... let me show you how to really use that gun." He spun suddenly and grabbed the gun from his ear, now shoving it into Tachi's cheek, blood smearing the side of the man's startled face. "Like this." His fingers pulled the trigger, but as he did so, his normal personality reasserted itself and re-directed the gun from Tachi's cheek to his own temple.

            BAM.

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there. cliff-hanger, as promised. ^____________________^ i remain astounded by the lack of flames on this story…. flamers, the invitation from chapter seven still stands. the fact that no-one as taken me up on it is kinda nifty. feel free to squash my hopes and dreams! XD

remember, feedback keeps the chapters flowing. c'mon, push the button. it'll make our day.

next chapter: …oh, come on. as if you really need a teaser with that ending. stay tuned!

-vethia & midori-chan