Chapter 4
Shuichi stared down into Yuki's confused face, completely horrified. "Who am I?! Yuki it's me, Shuichi!!"
Yuki's eyebrows knitted together. "Shuichi? Yuki? Who are they?"
Mika leaned in closer. "Eiri, are you truly all right?"
Yuki looked at her. "Stop throwing around such names!! I don't know anyone by those names!" then he froze. "Wait...who am I? Where am I? I-I-I don't even know my own name!!"
Mika and Tohma exchanged horrified glances. Tatsuha ran into the hallway, hollering for the doctor.
Shuichi took Yuki's hand. "Yuki, surely you remember me!! I'm Shuichi, your lover!!"
Yuki's eyes fell to where Shuichi gripped his hand. "Please let go, you're hurting me."
Shuichi immediately let go, silently wondering why Yuki said that. He hadn't squeezed his hand tightly or anything. "But Yuki-"
"Is Yuki my name? I don't understand, where am I? Why am I in so much pain?!"
Tohma leaned forward, getting in Shuichi's way. "Shh, don't overdue it. Try to calm yourself, becoming hysterical won't do you any good."
Yuki stared at him for a long while before letting out a tired sigh. "All right...thanks for helping me."
Tohma smiled. "Don't worry about it."
Shuichi felt a lump in his throat. He had wanted to help Yuki, but all he did was help to get him worked up.
It was then that Tatsuha returned, the doctor in tow. "I've got the doctor!!"
"Please make room," commanded the doctor. Everyone complied, emptying the areas surrounding the bed. He got out the basic check-up tools. "Can you tell me your name?"
"I don't know!" said Yuki, and Shuichi's throat hurt with the growing lump. Never had he seen Yuki so hysterical. "That guy with the pink hair calls me Yuki...is that my name?!"
The doctor shined a light in Yuki's eyes. "Don't worry, this is your family. They will help you to remember everything you need to remember."
"My family?" Yuki looked at all of them.
The doctor turned to them. "I know you all must be upset, but can you leave us alone for five minutes? I want to do some check-ups on him, but I'll call you when I'm done."
"Of course, doctor," said Mika. And one by one, they all filed out of the room.
Mika fished into her purse. "Let's see...I have photos in here somewhere-ah!!! Here they are!!"
Tohma watched her do this before walking up to her. "Can we talk for a minute, Mika-san?"
Mika looked up. "Of course, Tohma." She followed him down the hall, away from Tatsuha and Shuichi.
"Damn," said Tatsuha. "Never would've thought Aniki would by an amnesiac."
Shuichi huddled in his seat, tears rolling down his face.
"Hey." Tatsuha patted his shoulder. "Don't worry. Aniki is probably the most stubborn person I'll ever meet. He'll regain his memories in no time."
Shuichi managed a small nod, though more tears escaped his eyes.
Tatsuha eyed Tohma and Mika, who were very engrossed in a conversation. "I think I have a good idea as to what they're talking about."
"Huh?" Shuichi followed Tatsuha's gaze.
"I don't think they're going to tell Tou-san about this. The old man might have a freak heart attack, or something. Plus...I know for sure there are certain memories they don't want Aniki to remember."
"The New York incident?"
"Exactly."
Shuichi scrubbed at his face. "But that's not good, though. Eventually Yuki will regain all of his memories, including the New York incident. I don't think he'd be able to handle the shock if he just remembered it out of the blue instead of being gently told about it."
Tatsuha nodded to this, but pointed to Mika and Tohma. "Try telling THEM that. Because I'm still a teenager, they leave me out of any decisions pertaining to Aniki. Of course if I was allowed my two cents, they would always be in your favor."
"Thank you." Shuichi stretched his arms.
Tatsuha glanced at his watch. "Dammit, this is taking longer than fucking five minutes. Want to take a walk? I'll buy you a coffee."
Shuichi stood. "Okay. I was going to call Hiro, anyways."
-
Tohma watched Shuichi and Tatsuha leave. "All right. You'll remember what we just talked about, right?"
Mika hesitantly nodded. "I will."
It was then that the doctor approached them. "He's all set. Where is the other two?"
"Went to get coffee," said Tohma. "Can we see Eiri-san now?"
"Yes, go on in."
Mika held the photos close to her. "Here goes nothing."
-
"I might not be home for a while," said Shuichi. He held a hand to his face as tears spilled out. "Hiro, I can't believe it!! He's got total amnesia!! He didn't even know his own name!!"
"Holy shit," said Hiro on the other line. "Are you okay, Shuichi?"
Shuichi sniffed and scrubbed a hand over his face. "A little. I'm still in shock though. I honestly don't know what to do!!"
"First off, don't go into hysterics. Try to calm yourself and look on the brighter side of things. At least he woke up."
Shuichi closed his eyes and sighed. "Yeah...he woke up..."
"And it's not like amnesia is ever permanent. He'll regain his memories eventually."
Shuichi nodded, though Hiro couldn't see it. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks."
"I'll talk to K-san tomorrow to see if I can get you a day off. You can't go into work as you are now."
"Thanks Hiro, I owe you one."
"Hey, no problem."
"I'm gonna go now. I'll see you later."
"Yeah. Bye."
"Bye." Shuichi hung up the phone.
"Shuichi!!" Tatsuha walked up to him and shoved a cup of coffee into his hands. "Drink this, it'll make you feel better."
Shuichi gulped it down, though it scalded his tongue, mouth, and throat. "Do you think they're done with Yuki's check-up?"
Tatsuha looked at his watch. "Oh shit!! It's been twelve minutes!!" he grabbed Shuichi's sleeve and started running. "Let's go!!!"
-
"Your name is Uesugi Eiri," said Mika.
Yuki stared at her. "Why was that pink-haired one calling me Yuki then?"
"You're a novelist," said Tohma. "Yuki Eiri is your penname."
"Why didn't I just leave my old name?"
Mika and Tohma glanced at each other before Mika answered. "Because Yuki means 'snow' and winter is your favorite season."
"Oh, that makes sense."
Mika pointed to herself. "I'm Seguchi Mika, your Onee-san."
"If you're my sister, why do you have a different last name than me?"
Tohma leaned down. "That's because she's married to me. I'm Seguchi Tohma, your brother-in-law."
"Oh, okay."
Mika showed him some photographs. "See here? This is when you were younger when we were all living in Kyoto."
Yuki stared at the photographs. "Who's that other person?"
"Your itouto, Uesugi Tatsuha," said Mika. "He looks like you, but with black hair."
"Oh. Is he here?"
"Yes, actually. He'll be right back. Oh, and here's Tou-san. He worries about you a lot."
"Aren't fathers supposed to worry about their children?"
Mika smiled. "That's why he worries for you."
"Oh, okay."
"And what about that pink-haired boy?"
Mika opened her mouth to speak, but Tohma spoke for her. "He-"
"I can't wait to see Aniki!!" declared a voice from the hall.
"Who's that?" asked Yuki.
"That would be Tatsuha," said Mika, starting to stand up. "Tohma and I are going to fetch him for you."
"Okay. Thanks, Onee-san."
Tears sprung to Mika's eyes when he said that. She patted his hand before leaving the room with Tohma.
"Somehow he seems much cuter now," mused Tohma.
Mika wiped away tears that threatened to fall. "He hadn't called me Onee-san in years."
"Hey guys!!" yelled Tatsuha, running up to them with Shuichi in tow. "How's Aniki?"
"Why don't you go see for yourself?" offered Tohma.
"Cool!! Let's go, Shuichi!!"
"Not right now," said Mika. "Tohma and I have to talk with Shindou-kun first."
"All right," said Shuichi. "I'll see you later, Tatsuha."
"Um, yeah." Tatsuha eyed both Mika and Tohma before going into Yuki's room. He knew they were going to pull something, but he didn't know what.
-
"I take it Yuki is all right?" asked Shuichi.
"Yes, he is," said Mika.
Shuichi rubbed his hands together. "So, what did you need to talk to me about?"
"Eiri-san," said Tohma.
"Why don't we all sit down?" said Mika. She knew there would be raised voices during the conversation and she didn't want Tatsuha interfering.
They all went over to a couple of chairs and sat down. "Shindou-kun, I'm sure are aware of Eiri's amnesia."
"Of course I am!" said Shuichi. "I was right there!!"
"Then I'm sure you can understand how important it is that Eiri not remember a few things from his past."
"If you mean the New York incident, then I-"
"We think it's best for Eiri-san if you stay away from him," stated Tohma.
Shuichi jumped to his feet. "WHAT?!?!"
"Amnesia is a serious condition. Right now we feel that Eiri-san should only remember the things that mean the most to him. Mainly his family."
"But I'm part of his family, too!! I-"
Tohma narrowed his eyes. "Shindou-san, in all honesties I hardly think Eiri-san ever accepted you into his family."
"He might not have, but Tatsuha has!!"
"Tatsuha is too young to make such decisions," said Mika. "It's not like we want to completely erase you from Eiri's memory. It has nothing to do with you. It's all about what happened to him in New York. You have the personality he had before he went there. And yes, he did grow to care about you very much. But he also loved the man who did those horrible things to him. Since he loved him, and loved you too, don't you think that by finding out about you would trigger that memory?"
Shuichi stood rooted to the spot. They wanted to wipe away the bad memories Yuki had.
And in their eyes, he was one of the bad memories.
But how could he possibly tell them otherwise? Surely they did not know every single thing that was beneficial for Yuki, but right now his recovery was most important. And he didn't need Shuichi's stupidity adding to the mix.
Finally he closed his eyes and let out a shaky sigh. "I'm going home now." But what was there a home for him without Yuki?
Tohma seemed to be back to his cheery self. "I can call my driver to give you a ride."
"No, no. I'll call Hiro and ask him to pick me up." Then he started walking down the hall.
This was no doubt the worst day of his life. He hadn't finished the song that was due, and now he couldn't be with Yuki. Music and Yuki. The two things he couldn't live without, yet they were so out of reach.
He reached the elevator and hit the button to open the doors.
"Shindou-kun!!" someone called out to him. He slightly turned to see Mika running towards him. "Please take this into consideration!! It's not like I want Eiri to completely forget about you!! Sooner or later he will remember what happened, but I want him emotionally prepared for that!! So please keep your distance until then!!"
Shuichi listened to her every word as he entered the elevator. He hit the down button and the doors closed. He didn't want to talk to her right then. Sure, he would remember eventually. But for all he knew that would take years.
Then again, I'll do anything to make him happy, he thought, tears spilling from his eyes. Even if it means allowing him to forget me, I'd gladly do it if it meant he would get better.
-
"I'll take Tatsuha home," said Mika. "He's tired, and it would be dangerous for him to ride home on his motorcycle."
"Is he staying with anyone?" asked Tohma.
"He said Ryuichi, but I'm not really sure, though he has a key to Ryuichi's apartment."
"Well, drop him off at Ryuichi's apartment to see if he's lying. I have some business to take care of, so I'll see you at home."
"Okay, I'll see you there." Mika gave him a peck on the cheek before leaving to snag Tatsuha.
Tohma watched her go. Then he turned and entered Yuki's room. Since his awakening Yuki had become a lot more alert and awake.
"Hi, Tohma," he greeted, yawning a little.
Tohma smiled as he took a seat next to the bed. "Are you feeling well, Eiri-san?"
"I'm still in pain, but I'll be fine. How did I end up like this anyhow?"
Tohma took in a deep breath. What he was about to do was cruel, but he felt it was the right thing to do. "Don't worry about it."
"I didn't see that pink-haired guy. The doctor said he was my cousin."
"That's a lie," said Tohma. "That boy is a bad influence. He's very deceitful and causes tons of problems for us."
Yuki blinked at him. "But...but he was in here-"
"He came in here to hurt you, Eiri-san. We arrived in time to stop him, and we would've thrown him out if you had not woken up."
Yuki closed his eyes. "If he came in here to hurt me...did he hurt me?"
"He was the cause of your injuries, though he himself didn't inflict them upon you."
"I-I-I didn't know-"
"It's the truth, Eiri-san. I'm your brother-in-law, would I ever lie to you about something so serious?"
"...No, of course not. Family members don't do that sort of thing." He opened his eyes. "Thanks for the warning. I'll stay away from him from now on."
"Thank you. It's best to forget about such characters."
"Yes, you're right."
Tohma smiled.
I'm not stupid Shindou-san, he thought. Despite your promise I know you would crack after a few days and would want to see Eiri-san. Well, I just fixed that. As much as you want to see him equals to as much as he doesn't want to see you. I'm making sure you never enter his life again, and Eiri-san will be all mine. And he'll gladly my word over yours any day.
