Howdy, everyone. I noticed that everyone posted chapters on Valentines Day, or even a new story. Alas, Angel Dust, Chapter 5 refused to be finished by that date, demanding for work on it. Maybe this should be a late Valentines treat for my readers. However, I get to write more replies to reviews, seeing as I got more reviews last time. Thank you and I love you all!
Gravitation © Maki Murakami
ANGEL DUST
Chapter 5
Had the days really gone by that fast? One moment, time itself would seem to slow everything down for him, making everything seem so out of reach. Every day the past week seemed to cause different attitudes in him; one day he would be aggressive and hostile, the next day he seemed as though something must have mitigated his own mind. His surroundings were almost in a blur of mild consciousness and the stress that was building on him was not helping.
Some anonymous force pulled his attention toward the small mini calendar that lay on a hard wood cabinet. He was sure that he had looked at the block of assorted papers more than five times repeatedly now, but just wanted to make sure his eyes were not fooling.
The concert was today. By the time the clock would turn over to seven o' clock tonight, he would be up there on stage, in front of millions of hollering fans that are willing to give their lives up for just one second to the band they obsessed over. The very thought enthused his senses, making his fingers shake in utter excitement, ready to grab that microphone that awaited him tonight. He was a little timorous in a way; he always was the morning before concerts. Everything always went so well that it seemed pointless to worry. It was that boy. He was the one who was making him worry the most, troubled him so. He wondered if he would actually come up after the rendezvous between the before, or would he actually be that indomitable? In a way, he actually yearned for him to be there, to hear him sing. Ryuichi looked out the window, hoping to find the answers to all of his problems.
He found none.
"C minus?" Miyu degraded her test results on her science paper. She was so baffled to see such a low grade, and knew her parents were to scold her once she got home. Instead of being put down because of her own work, she took the opportunity to glance across the room with a gauche glance, trying to see if anyone did better than she did.
Of course, all the ethereal, autocratic girls had gotten wonderful grades. They probably just went home and asked help from one of their many boyfriends; how else do you think they were straight A students? Making an excuse that it was all hard work they had done, but would never take a pop quiz freely on their own. With an exhale, she took out her folder, which was pervaded with Nittle Grasper stickers, and placed her paper in the folder. With a smile to cover her disappointment, she turned around to face the desk behind her, where her one true love sat. "Hey, Tatsuha-kun. That was a bad test, huh? You would not believe what I got."
Tatsuha nonchalantly took his paper and showed her the A that was stamped on the top of the paper. "What about it 'being so bad'?" he grinned devilishly, which only made Miyu grow more furious.
"How in the hell did you get a grade like that," Miyu asked him forcefully, "I do not remember studying with you last night."
It was strange for Tatsuha to get such an outstanding grade; he seemed to be a little surprised himself. She did notice the difference in his attitude after she mentioned the concert Nittle Grasper was to have. After that, his smile never faded one second from his lips. He even found the opportunity to caress her the night before; making her afraid she would have a chafe from all of the rubbing. He was so motivated for a reason unknown to her, but she liked it. She knew this was the day she would have to let him know. His raven eyes met her ocean blue ones, and made her heart stop for a moment by giving her a smile of enthusiasm.
She smiled back, her hands doddering from embarrassment.
Every day the school would allow the students to have their lunches on the lawn, and they took the most of it. Kyoto was always such a wonderful place for outdoor eating, with the beautiful scenery and wildlife to keep you company. It set out the perfect serenity in the air, making you feel so calm and relaxed. The school itself also had a very peaceful, enlightened look. It looked just like the temples around town, wooden and colored with just a limit of natural scheme. Couples would sit together, share lunches and talk about their plans for the weekend. Singles would eat alone with friends, or even the sweet nothings going on between couples, yearning for the same attention.
"How romantic," Miyu sighed with misty, love-dosed eyes as she watched a girl kiss her beaux on the lips for a few minutes. They were both sitting together on a bench near the schoolhouse, and the girl had cooked a warm meal for her boyfriend. Miyu pulled back her long, black hair and rubbed her legs against the soft texture of the grass. The rays of the sunlight were coming through the crevices of the leaves, which were shading her. She looked down at her boxed lunch. She fixed okonomiyaki and prepared a little bowl of miso-flavored ramen, Tatsuha's favorite foods. Her satisfaction for her hard work was enormous, and made her feel like a wife to her love. She dreamed of making her lunch everyday at a home of their own, having children to teach and watch as they grow. She let out an exhale of pure please of the thought. She remembered the final addition and took out a piece of scrap paper and a blue point pen, sketching in words some very important news. She blushed just by writing it down and quickly put it in the bento. Her cheeks were crimson red and her heart rate was soaring.
"I can't wait for him to find out."
The lid of the box shut quickly as she saw Tatsuha, talking to some of his friends as they walked around the corner of the school. None of them seemed to be carrying a boxed lunch, or they could have already eaten. Nevertheless, Miyu extended her hand into the air and started to wave it back and forth in a horizontal line, a grin plastered across her face.
"Tatsuha-kun," she hoped for him to acknowledge her calls as she shouted, "over here!"
At the sound of her voice, one of his friends looked over to see her motioning at Tatsuha. He gave her a look of no importance, looked at Tatsuha and pointed to where she sat, "Hey, she wants you."
It seemed Tatsuha was aware of her presence, and the fact she wanted him to sit next to her, yet he acted repressed on his own from her. Because of her shouting and foolish acts, the conversations between him and his friends were gone and everything was so inaudible and silent, only looks from the other males were what he was receiving. He swallowed harshly, knowing his friends were waiting for him to take movement: stay with them, or go over to the beautiful girl waiting for him.
"I'll be right back," Tatsuha instructed his friends in defeat, and walked over to the girl sitting on the grass beneath the large tree, "What?"
Miyu patted her hand on the ground next to her, "Sit."
"Humph," Tatsuha grunted under his breath, not liking the treatment she was giving him. She commanded him like a dog, yet he replied and sat down next to her, not knowing what she was wanting from him. All the girls he been with always acted like this to him, always wanting him around as if he cared for them with reverence. It was very agitating to him that he just gave her a sharp glance, "What do you want?" he asked once more, hoping for an answer this time.
"I fixed you lunch," Miyu took the bento and placed it into his lap, her eyes glimmering for him to accept it. "I made okonomiyaki and miso ramen, your favorites!"
Tatsuha was tempted to take out the served food before him, but he declined, pushing the box over to her. "I don't want anyway. I already ate."
"What?" Miyu stammered, feeling as though a large conflagration inside her heart was automatically burned out by a wave. She could not let Tatsuha get away without seeing the note she left him inside the box, so she put it back in his lap, "Please? I went through all that to make this for you."
"No." Tatsuha said once more, starting to feel a little rankled at her persistent attitude, "you can cook me dinner tonight. I am not hungry right now."
"Just look at it, at least," Miyu said, pulling the bento to his face.
Tatsuha was baffled at her behavior over a packed lunch! Never had she acted like this before over something so little. "Why do you want me to have it so bad?"
"Because," was her only reply before going stone cold silent.
The bento in front of Tatsuha's face was grabbed by his strong hands, and placed down in Miyu's lap. He stood up before her, "Listen." He gave her a wink of eye and grinned, "I promise I will eat what you fix me tonight, okay? Right now I am kind of busy." By her silence, he found that as an 'okay', so he patted her on the head, feeling the softness of her hair, just like fabric. After that, he left to catch up with his waiting friends.
She watched him with the most lugubrious affection, wishing he had accepted her offer. She knew Tatsuha more then anyone else would have. Ever since they were children at the age of eight, their parents found it appropriate to suit them together, get along, and be acquainted to one another. It was not until the age of eight before she realized her revering feelings for him, the love she felt. She remembers how coy and recoiling she was around him once she figures out how she felt towards him. Yet, he never seemed to notice. He was always the same to her, wanting to play and talk about Nittle Grasper. He never really understood the true meaning of her deep adoration she held for him. Then again, he still does not.
Miyu was the same way, somehow. She will forever remain abashed around him; no matter how many times she has soi-disant her love to him aloud. Interaction between them only made things more complicated for them both in the past. They hardly said anything to each other for weeks after their first sexual intercourse, especially because they were aware of being cousins, but it made Miyu even shyer around him than before. For Tatsuha, it only gave him one more problem. She was not blind on much he gets aggravated when a girl hangs off him, and he was never afraid to tell her about his past, as he never did with anyone before. Nevertheless, she wanted to be around him more, be more close to him, and to love him more than anyone ever had or ever will.
He was her impedimenta. Her Tatsuha.
The bento lid unbarred with a turn of her wrists. Her eyes turned to take a gander at what she had placed inside, on the top of all the meals. A note, which read, "We are engaged."
"Once more," Tohma apprised with a wave of his hand, turning the heated knobs of a speaker. Electric waves seemed to wave through their bodies, sending chills of excitement through them. The band was getting ready for the concert tonight, and their expectations were high. The atmosphere was perfect. Full and cooling. In more aspect, they were entirely unrestful with jittering nerves, hoping that they would not mess up on anything in the concert.
Noriko and Tohma were just giving the speakers and equipment one last check before the concert, where security would over check them before they go on stage. They were rehearsing more than what they normally do, on the account to take their minds off the bustling things in the past, and the back of their minds.
Ryuichi, who decided to help with the booths of drinks and souvenirs, had much to take off his mind. He bent his legs, gathering enough balance and strength to push up the large amount of wood of the stand. His sweat would occasionally drip down his forehead, pooling across the floor it hit. His mind would wonder every now and again, thinking of the boy he may or may not see that awaiting night. The thought almost taunted him. Pressure started to hit his shoulder blades and it signaled that he was holding the board too long.
"Ah," he whimpered with surprise and turned to the worker beside him, "Sorry!" he put the board up quickly to finish the booth. The sweat was starting to gather among his headband, cooling of the rest of his exterior. "I really need to stop thinking about that," he reminded himself.
Noriko grabbed a cup of water and pressed it against her lips, allowing the wet liquid run down her throat, cooling her face. "Man," she chimed after the hard drink, "I can't wait until tonight. Everything seems so perfect."
"Millions of people are coming," Tohma looked at a small handbook, written on it was how many attendance have bought tickets. "People from all over Japan, and even overseas are going to arrive tonight. This event surely is going to be one of Nittle Grasper's best."
Noriko nodded with a grin of true enthusiasm, but was soon taken aback once her cell phone rang. She grabbed the small, black phone on her waist and looked to see who had called her. A small flash of shock captured her face, and a gasp released between her vocals. She breathed harshly as she looked up at Tohma, who was giving her an eye of both concern and query.
"My husband," she informed the blonde looking at her. "It will only take a moment," was the last thing she told her band mate before taking off around a corner. She pushed the talk button her phone and brought it to her ear with a large exhale, "Tatsuha!" she shrieked in utter movement, surprised he would call her. She looked around her after proclaiming his name to the phone, making sure either Tohma or Ryuichi knew whom she was talking to, "Why are you calling now?"
"Because," he voice came through, his shyness was clear in his voice, "I just wanted to thank you for the back stage pass you sent me this morning."
Noriko winked to herself, obviously with a plan up her sleeve, "No problem, Tatsuha-chan. After all, if no one is taking action, I will. Tohma and Ryuichi are so oblivious on how much your apology will fix things," she placed her palm on her forehead, running her fingers through her soft hair. "The tension between us three is heart aching anymore! We hardly talk about anything, all because of what happened."
"Wow," Tatsuha let out a small chortle, "Now I feel really bad."
"Oh, don't think you caused all of it," she jumped after he said that, knowing she must have said the wrong thing, "It is merely Tohma who is causing the silence, and a little bit of Ryuichi. It is as if they are trying to forget it, but their attitudes won't let them."
A large, crackling sound was heard from the phone. Noriko could not make out what Tatsuha was doing in that time, but waited for him to reply. "Yeah, I feel pretty bad about, anyways. I hope he will accept my apology."
"It's Ryu-chan we are talking about," Noriko smiled wholeheartedly, looking over to the 31-year-old helping workers, "if there is anyone more forgiving than Buddha himself, it's my Ryu-chan."
"Great, I will be there tonight."
"Tatsuha," the elder man walked over to the boy's room. It was obvious he waited for him to stop his conversation on the phone. Tatsuha saw the concern in the drooping eyes of his, "Miyu-san told me how you acted to her at school today."
His father's words startled him. How he acted to Miyu? He treated her now differently than what he usually does everyday, or maybe something passed him that he did not know about. He always teased her, which she found pleasure in. His father noticed the look of ruin in his raven eyes, and explained how Miyu told him about the occurrence during lunch.
"What about it?" he asked in a monotone tone, not knowing anything wrong with it. He would refuse her food a lot of the time, yet never has she reacted this way before, "I told her I would eat her supper tonight."
"She was trying to tell you something, son," he answered with a swift glance and a cough, trying to signal to something. Tatsuha's muscles tightened at those words, and his body made a quick jerk to the left. He was afraid of what his father may say next, "You two are to be espoused."
Tatsuha took no time after his father let those words curve from his mouth, and grabbed his jacket. The keys to his bike were no longer lying on the counter, but were picked up between his strong fingers. "I'm leaving," he croaked under a penurious, dry voice. His eyes stared down his father with a discern look before shutting the door behind him.
"Oh boy," his father exhaled. He knew that his son would not have taken it well.
After taking a long, cooling ride on his motorcycle, Tatsuha decided to take a rest on the nearest bench. The streetlights were already on, giving him more heating to his body. "I can't believe it," he toyed with his mind. He knew Miyu was acting strangely today, but she was trying to tell him they were engaged. How could this have happened? His life was finally turning around again after the whole kissing accident, yet things just got worse.
He thought his father respected him more, understood him more. To engage him without his word of approval seemed to conniving, and thought he would only do that to Eiri, like the whole Ayaka betrothal. He seemed so cheated now, especially because he finally found out how to make things right with Ryuichi. Now he seemed not up to go and even see the concert. He never noticed before, but he was just being treated as a puppet to his father. Monk duties; life; now marriage. He really is like Eiri more than what he had known.
He grabbed a small, blue piece of laminated paper from his coat pocket. The backstage pass to the Nittle Grasper concert, hanging on a small chain to wrap around his delicate neck. The one thing that he treated like treasure the whole day seemed like such malarkey and debris to him now. He tossed it to the aside, and pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket instead, lighting one of the sticks up and staring at the smoke as he exhaled it into the evening air.
The moment his life started to become brighter again, the roof would cave in, leaving him in total darkness once more. This time, he did not care to see the light again.
"What a turn out," Ryuichi said with a mouth agape. The whole auditorium was packed with fans, eager to see the performance. As he stood in his dressing room that was placed to a good location to look out among the people, he found himself shaking for an unknown reason. Anticipation, fright or who knows what was causing him to jitter. The shaking was rare for him, especially after years of doing this kind of thing. His beautiful, enchanting eyes scanned the audience, overlooking each one. The sound of distance footsteps caught his ears and he turned around quickly, as if trying to hide something.
"Looking for someone," the silhouette of a slim, fine figure soon came into view, "Ryu-chan?"
Ryuichi relieved himself after knowing who was after him, "Oh, Noriko," he breathed pathetically; commonly a girl would sound that way after not being caught doing something they should not. His brown bangs hung a little bit over his eyes, dangling from his headband, and sailed across his face after he turned his head to the side, not looking at her. "No."
"He'll be here," she said in a compassionate tone that made her seem to read his mind, and comprehend what he was thinking. "He would never miss one of our concerts for the world, even a little quarrel and misunderstanding."
The sobriety tone in his voice, the intentness of his burning eyes as he looked out the crowd suddenly fled from his entire being at her advice. He finally knew whom she was talking about, even though he was looking for him in the back of his mind. His turned his feet around so he could face her properly, unknown what to say to her, even a whisper seemed impossible.
"Noriko-chan--"
"Okay everyone," Tohma promenaded around the corner, "it's time to start! You ready?"
Ryuichi swallowed a large amount of dry saliva in his mouth and just looked at Tohma's high spirits. He turned to see Noriko's response, but she was already walking down the hallway, swinging her hips as she hummed a tune that seemed familiar to an old song of theirs. For Noriko, she was acting weird. Ryuichi had a reared eyebrow at his friend walking down the hallway, but turned to Tohma with a jaunty smile,
"Let's do it."
The crowd cheered with enormous enthusiasm, screaming the name of the band they had all come to see. Some were already dancing to the waiting music, using it as a 'warm-up'. Other were getting their finishing touches on signs they would hold up, proclaiming how much they loved one of the band mates, and of course, their were others who were much more satisfied in drinking the alcoholic beverages until their wait was over.
"Nittle Grasper" was the only audible thing you could hear from the crowd, except for the excess use of Ryuichi, Tohma, or Noriko's name.
The stage was so dark now, that not even one-person saw the figures walk open the stage. However, applause and cheering ensued once they heard the sound of the familiar keyboards going off. The cheering grew louder as the beat started to pick up, and the stage lights slowly started to turn on, giving them one sight at a time.
"Ryuichi-sama!" is the loudest thing heard once all the stage light turned on, giving a perfect view of the man standing upfront of the stage, microphone in hand.
"He'll be here," flowed through his mind, just those three words Noriko had told him gave him the impulse of looking out to the crowd, looking for that one person. If he were here, what would happen? Would he actually try to come after him, or hate him forever? He saw no sight of him anywhere among the millions of fans.
Even though the occurrence between the two was rather harsh, it still disappointed him to not see him here. He had no reason why he felt this way, but something inside made him wish Tatsuha were here to see him, even for the last time. In deep thought, he hardly noticed the music playing all around him and the intro was almost over. Hands placed on the microphone, he clasped it harder and brought it to his mouth,
"Nijuuhachi-ji no yoru wo kiritoru," his voice was perfect, and left everyone astounded. He would inhale for quick breaths, and sing to his full content, "mado wo toshimetara hajimaru ichido shikaketara tokenai wana wo ma ni awanai protection."
The song was going well, and he could feel the emotion running out of his mind and into the microphone, in a way, singing out seemed to wash away his dilemmas from the past couple of days. This concert made him feel like the old Sakuma Ryuichi again.
"Tatoeba kimi wo kizutsuketai," but still, "jiorama ni tojikomete," but still… this song, "tataitemita tte sakendetemo kikoenai sa predilection." The song was reminding him of him. Never had he noticed the lyrics would actually relate to someone on his mind. He wanted to stop the song at that moment of realization, yet he wanted to continue. His entire mind was at tug-o'-war.
"Oh shit," came someone into the building, "it's already started!" The person dragged himself through the crowds to get a better look to make up for missing some of the song. People dancing and hopping around screaming were bumping Tatsuha. He knew he almost made a mistake, and he was not going to make another one. He froze once he got a good sight of the beauty dancing on stage, oscillating his hips, motioning his hands. His eyes were closed in emotional thought as the mystical melody tossed from his lips.
"Iki mo dekinai joukyou shita de wa sugureta ai wo musaboru," sweat dripped from the vocalist's chin, his eyes opened in a hazy state, "Can't get enough kotoba yori mo motto, don't let me down tashika ni misete hoshii, one more night kusuka ni kizutsuita kimi wo mitsumeru me sono saki ni."
Tatsuha felt the urge to climb up onto stage and apologize now; the wait was taunting him, making it much longer to get this off his chest. "Sakuma-san," his whisper was almost inaudible.
Ryuichi held his right hand to his chest, his vocals strengthening. "Uragiru tame ni umaretekita kuchibiru wo togisumase muimi na rikutsu ni mata muragaru orokashisa ni predilection."
Tatsuha watched the whole night, mesmerized by his excellent, handsome beauty. Everything that had happened in his mind were gone, he actually felt like the old fan boy he used to be, fawning over Ryuichi. As Ryuichi finally felt like his old self once again, so did Tatsuha.
"Thank you everyone," Ryuichi announced into the microphone. The concert was over after about three hours, and he was overlapped in heat. The words he would say were muffled through long, hard pants of breaths. You could see the sweat among his face, and his headband was a darker red than what it was. "I enjoyed all of you coming here today, it surely brought me out of a bad mood I have been having recently."
Noriko and Tohma gave each other a foolish glance between drinking from their water bottles.
"I hope you will always support us, Nittle Grasper."
Noriko sighed, sitting herself down on a soft chair in their private room, "That was a blast!" she exclaimed after kicking off her high heel shoes.
"I kept having a bad feeling I would mess up," Tohma admitted after cracking open a sake. "But in the end, everything went well. And of course, it made some of us feel better."
Noriko leaned over to rub her sore legs, and eyed the room. The jaunty male was nowhere to be found inside the room, "Speaking of which, where is Ryu-chan?"
"Na no da!" came a familiar, cheerful screech as a big, ball of sugar rolled into the room, holding his pink bunny companion. The sweaty man was having so much fun, ignoring the fact he was overheated. His attitude was proof that he was in a much brighter mood. He leaped to his feet to jump onto the nearest vacant chair, "Super Ryu-chan is here!" he started to punch the air in a ninja style, except much more unprofessional.
Tohma was proud of his sudden change; it was obvious he was glad he scheduled the concert on a perfect time. "Yes, it seems we are all pretty super right now. Want something to drink Ryuichi-san?" The beer in his hand was very tempting, and Ryuichi pleasantly took the offer, his throat starch and dry.
Noriko took that as an opportunity to get a drink herself, "This was a very important concert after all. And because of its ability to put people in better moods, it is even more special." She giggled.
"Tasty," Ryuichi squealed with a large grin after chugging down some of his beer, "But really, I am surprised I haven't had anyone ask for autographs yet. By now, a lot of people would be surrounding me."
Noriko stopped scratching off some of her finger paint to gasp. She had forgotten about the arrangement for Tatsuha to apologize to Ryuichi, and was enjoying a nice, cold beer!
Her fingers pulled up the strap of her tank top back, and thought of the first lie she could come up with "Oh, speaking of people wanting to see you, Shuichi called me earlier and said he wanted to see you after the concert."
"Shu-chan?" Ryuichi's eyes sparkled. Of course, he was gullible enough to fall for it. It would be the first time for an actual friend outside of the band, of course, to come and see him after a concert. His happiness grew another level as he held of the stuffed bunny, "Come on Kumagorou, and let's go see Shuichi!" with that, he took off out the door immediately.
Tatsuha walked behind stage, looking at all the fan girls and fan boys fortunate enough to get a backstage pass, just as he did. Many of them were probably relatives or close friends, but most just seemed like groupies. The women with overused jewelry on the bodies would just talk about sleeping with the band mates, and how they have slept with all of them at the same time. Tatsuha has had his share of fantasies, but never could he actually think of it happening.
What he was looking for was hard. Noriko informed him to just search for Ryuichi, but the easiest thing to search for became the hardest. He could have been anywhere: in the middle of a group of fans, in a room, he could not even be backstage.
"Maybe this was a bad idea." He groaned under his breath, looking like a lost puppy who did not even know who Nittle Grasper was. His head turned in the perfect time to see Ryuichi step out of Nittle Grasper's private room. He was holding Kumagorou and had the most angelic look on his face, with a smile to cure anyone's blues.
Just like he saw him on their 'date'.
Ryuichi's head turn back and forth, as if looking for someone. He seemed a little disappointed after he did not see Shuichi, but jumped at a voice.
"Sakuma-san—"
"Everyone keeps sneaking up on me," he choked for breath with a short, fake giggle. He turned around to see the broad neck of someone, "Oro?" he queried at the height, wondering they stuff their shoes. He looked up to see the raven eyes of a familiar person. "T-Tatsuha-kun?"
Tatsuha gazed into the older, yet shorter man's eyes with sincerity. He wanted to say he was sorry, but his mind practically froze on him, causing him to go numb from the head to the neck.
"What are you doing here? You shouldn't be back here," Ryuichi stammered in a voice that made him seem to want revanche.
The black haired boy, at loss for words just showed him his backstage pass. As it seems, he came to his senses earlier.
"How did you get that?" he asked him, wanting to know everything before falling to his knees in fear.
Tatsuha took in a deep breath, wanting to tell him everything. About how bad he felt, how much he was sorry and would take it all back if he could, how he cried over it, and all the shit he had been through. He wanted to kill himself for not being able to tell him. He really was a kid compared to Ryuichi; he could tell that is what he was to him in his eyes.
"Listen," He ignored his last question, gasping for breath as if he was drowning. "I'm… I'm sorry." Ryuichi's eyes emitted the shock within his mind, and the gasp for breath was obvious on how taken aback he was.
"I never meant for any of this to happen," he admitted, "after what I done, and saw your face, I felt so full of vice and wanted to just end everything at that moment. Tohma told me I should not see you again, and in a way, I did not want to see you anymore. I thought if I did, I would be able tell how much I hurt you and that would of broken me. Nevertheless, I was already broken. Everyone tried to 'make me feel better' by doing things for me without letting me know, but in the end, it made things for me a lot worse." He gave Ryuichi the backstage pass, who took it with shaking hands.
"I got this backstage pass just this morning. After I received it, I was so happy. I was not that happy for the past few days, because I knew I would actually get a chance to make things right, even thought it would probably make things worse. I did not care, even if it took more pain to me, I wanted to try to make things right with you, hopefully to make you feel a lot better, not caring for my emotions in the end. I almost did not come to the concert, drowning myself into pure doubt. The only reason I came was for you, to see you possibly smile on stage. That's it."
Ryuichi had nothing to say, but one thing. "Who gave you this?"
"Ukai Noriko," he said with hardly any care. "She wanted me to apologize to you; she gave me a lot more hope for myself."
"Oh," was all he responded to that, giving an odd look to the room Noriko was in with Tohma. He gave the pass back to him, and just stared at the ground, feeling the tears build up. "I do forgive you. I was never that mad at you, you know. I was merely mad at myself more then anything. Everyone kept asking if I was okay, just like people with you. They made such a big deal out of it, as if I should never be able to do things like that with anybody." He smirked, a tear falling from his eyes and stained the ground. "Maybe the song was right. My lips must feel sharp."
"No they don't," Tatsuha advised him in a soothing tone, trying to console him as much as he could. "To tell you the truth, and don't laugh—" Ryuichi looked up at him with teary eyes, noticing the slight scarlet on his cheeks and his averted eyes, "your lips taste good."
Ryuichi gave him an eccentric look before letting a small laugh escape his lips with a small hiccup, "What flavor?"
"I don't know," Tatsuha's cheeks grew hotter. He was surprised at his straightforwardness, "Pineapple?"
Ryuichi let out a longer giggle, making Tatsuha look at him with a smile, along with his blush across his face. "Great, the spiky fruit." He giggled and looked up into his eyes, "I am glad you actually came out and told me this."
Tatsuha sighed with relief, "Me too. I was so scared to actually even come and watch you sing." He put out his hands, to get it shaked by Ryuichis. "Well," he smiled with charisma, "Now that we are friends again, how about we go to the zoo once more? I will dress up as the bear again, if you do the bunny. It will be fun! Than we can go and have icecre—"
He was suddenly cut off by the pressing sensation of Ryuichi's lips on his. His raven eyes were wide open, and traveled down to look at the man kissing him. His eyes were closed, with an imprint of a wet tear near his nose. To be near to Tatsuha's height, he has to get on his tiptoes, which only let him be to his forehead. It was a cute thing to him, though.
Tatsuha sunk into the kiss, not wanting it to down end. His hands started to vibrate, grabbing onto his hips, rubbing them delicately in a circle motion, causing him to chortle. His body heat started to flow onto Tatsuha, causing an emotional tension between the two. Tatsuha was taken aback once the man took a little nibble onto his bottom lip before pulling away, blushing furiously. He had obviously never kissed anyone that long before, especially when he was the one who started it.
"So, umm," he tried to think of a conversation to start, avoiding eye contact with Tatsuha now. "What did it taste like this time?"
Tatsuha laughed in his throat at that question, mostly because it was a weird one. "A sour pineapple." His joke got through to Ryuichi, giving Tatsuha a cold, childish glare. Ryuichi seemed to get it was a joke after Tatsuha started laughing playfully.
"Well," he gave Tatsuha a kid like look, "your kiss tasted like sour milk."
Tatsuha threw back his head a little, knowing other people would object otherwise. He leaned in to give him a short kiss. He smiled at him, letting go of his hips and started grabbed something slowly out from his own pants. He looked at Ryuichi with a mischievous, handsome demeanor and asked,
"Will you sign this autograph sheet for me?"
End
Nice little ol' ending, huh? Don't worry, "End" just means it is the end of the chapter, sillies. I need to start getting on the next chapter sooner or later. Time for reviews!
Oh, the song is "Predilection", a real Gravitation song sung by the real God him; Yamaguchi Kappei.
Nittle Grasper Wonder: Outstanding? Wow, that is a big praise for me. I truly thank you for the compliment. In addition, I am considering a lemon part somewhere or another. Also, I will be looking forward to your return. Thanks!
Cherry-Wolf: ….. What is this!? Do my eyes deceive me!? Another Tatsuha fan like myself? Wow, and I thought there were only so many god-like people AKA: People who like Tatsuha. Anyways, as you can see, your questions were answered in this chapter. Very good? Wow, even that compliment is above my standards. Of course it is Tatsuha/Ryuichi, silly goose!
NeedlePoint: Yeah, even I do feel for the fan boy a little in my story. I can be so cruel to my favorite character.
Lucifer de Marque Forcee: lol. I probably will have a lemon. Moreover, I agree, they are TOO cute together! If I owned them, which will never happen, I would stick them in a closet together and open it up and take a picture… because, you know they would be doing something. =D
ksha2222 aGoddess on her knees: Everyone wants a lemon out of me. I added a little bit of spice in this chapter because of it. So, be satisfied for me. *wink* Also, Tatsuha is going to have to try harder to win that. After all, it is only beginning.
ShiTiger: No. "End" is just the end of the chapter, which will always be there. In addition, they did rather make up, huh? Ryuichi made a BOLD move. Who knows what he is getting himself into? Yeah, but I love it when Ryuichi acts like his age, even thought being happy is cute, too. Thanks for the comment.
PikuPiku: It is perfectly fine you are late. You know the saying, "Last but not least". Well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and not so sure if I could speed up their interaction anymore then I already have. Sorry.
PikuPiku, I hear by grant you the cyber cookies! You guessed right on who the newest character was! Miyu-chan is! She is such a neat character that I could not get rid of her. She was only just supposed to be in one chapter, but oh well. Thanks for guessing!
Please review.