Title: Spin
Author: Hawk Clowd
Disclaimer: so far as I know, I own nothing. Gravitation belongs to Maki Murakami and I wouldn't take it away from her for anything in the world. I just like to play. ^_^
Blood Type: I don't care... Something flammable, like hairspray. Simply because you could light a match and Ryuichi would be on fire.
Warnings: very few. Yaoi, which is a fairly obvious one, considering the fandom, random smut, and possible angst.
Archived: all of the usual places.
Part: Four
Author's Notes: this part just screams 'filler'! It's my way of telling all of you that I have no idea what I'm doing with this story... So I'm going to waste random space while I think of a somewhat decent plot line. We'll see how that works out.
---
Tatsuha felt much better, strangely, after telling Eiri about his encounter with Sakuma Ryuichi, and things slowly seemed to improve. He kept busy, trying to keep his mind off of what had happened with Ryuichi, and both Eiri and Shuichi were content to let him deal with the matter in his own way. Tatsuha was confident that Shuichi still did not know exactly what had happened, trusting that Eiri had decided that it was none of the singer's business. Which, of course, was the truth.
A few days before he was scheduled to return to Kyoto, Tatsuha went to NG Studios with Shuichi per the singer's request; Bad Luck was apparently recording a new single that day and, for some reason, Shuichi wanted Tatsuha's opinion. Tatsuha, of course, was wary; he knew Eiri wouldn't rat him out to Shuichi (warped, twisted, and evil as the writer may have been, he was still Tatsuha's brother), but it was obvious that Shuichi was planning to meddle in places where he was not wanted. Given Shuichi's nature, it was an easy assumption to make.
The beginning of the day was fairly uneventful, much to Tatsuha's relief, and he spent most of his time at the studio talking with Suguru Fujisaki. The two had met before, of course, although only briefly, and Tatsuha was shocked to discover that there really was a personality behind Suguru's girlish looks, and that the two of them had quite a lot in common. Tatsuha was also surprised to learn that Suguru, like himself, was still in school, despite being an important part of one of Japan's most popular bands. Since he worked during the day, however, Suguru attended a few night classes and was enrolled in several on-line courses, which was a new trend in Japan. Tatsuha wondered if Shuichi knew about that; the singer had never mentioned it.
A little after noon, K, the manager, let the band members go for a lunch break, so Shuichi, Hiro, Suguru, and Tatsuha all went to Zenny's, which was close by. It caused a bit of a stir at the restaurant. The three musicians were pelted by people asking for autographs and a few people even mistook Tatsuha for Eiri, which caused quite a few laughs. All in all, the whole commotion delayed their lunch, making them late in returning to work. K was angry, of course, and made everyone work twice as hard and insisted that Tatsuha busy himself elsewhere in the studio.
And so, after snitching some money from Shuichi's backpack, Tatsuha went downstairs to investigate the vending machines. He was trying to decide if he would rather buy ramen or a soda when someone cleared their throat behind him. Startled, Tatsuha whirled around to face Tohma Seguchi.
"I thought that was you, Tatsuha," Tohma said bluntly, a kind smile gracing his features. Tatsuha eyed the man suspiciously, unsure whether or not his brother-in-law's grin was sincere. The two had always been civil to one another, of course, but Tatsuha had learned early on that it was in his best interests to stay on Tohma's good side. Things always seemed to happen to those unlucky people who pissed Tohma off.
"Hey," Tatsuha answered glumly. "Long time no see."
Tohma considered the younger man carefully. "Mika told me you were staying in Wakayama over your summer break. Did your plans change?"
"Well, I... Um..." Tatsuha smiled unconvincingly and turned away to feed the ramen vending machine some money. "You see, things finished up early over there and I realized that I hadn't been to visit Eiri and Shuichi in a long while, so I caught a ride to Tokyo... And Shuichi asked me to come by today and listen to his new single, so here I am! That's okay, right?"
"That's funny," Tohma said in a voice that implied that he didn't think the situation was at all humorous, "since I was just talking to Ryuichi, who mentioned that you had been staying in with Eiri for quite some time now. The temple duty at Wakayama was a scheme to get away from your father over summer break, wasn't it?"
Tatsuha didn't answer, opting instead to curse and kick the vending machine that was holding both his money and his ramen captive. "I hate this thing," he mumbled to no one in particular. "You'd think that the top recording studio in Japan could afford to buy some decent vending machines, but no, we're stuck with--"
"Allow me." Tohma nudged Tatsuha out of the way, hit the vending machine once on the side, and then handed Tatsuha the newly delivered ramen. "Like most things in life," he began, "there is always a trick in getting what you want."
Tatsuha eyed Tohma warily. Was he reading further into the man's statement than need be, or did Tohma's advice mean more than he was letting on? It was probably the latter; that was definitely more Tohma's style. But if that was the case, what was he trying to say, exactly? He said he had spoken with Ryuichi; did it have something to do with that? Tatsuha frowned. Just how much did Tohma know and how was Tatsuha going to worm it out of him, exactly?
"Aren't you supposed to be on tour with Nittle Grasper right now?" Tatsuha asked finally, frowning at his brother-in-law. "Somewhere really far away?"
"Yes," Tohma answered smoothly, "but something came up and Noriko-san had us delay the tour for a week or so while she fixes things. I believe she's having some slight marital problems, although it's really none of my business. In any case, we're still here for the time being. Does that answer your question?"
"More or less," Tatsuha answered dryly.
"That's good." Tohma simply smiled. "And you are schedules to return to Kyoto soon, is that correct?"
Tatsuha nodded reluctantly. Talking with Tohma always made him feel uneasy for some reason; maybe because Tohma knew how to read into people's souls and unearth their deepest, darkest secrets. That would do it.
"A couple of days, I guess."
"And so I trust that--"
"TATSUHA~AAAAA!!!"
A whirlwind of pink and green pushed past Tohma and launched itself onto Tatsuha, knocking the teenager onto the ground. Tatsuha stared at the costumed Shuichi who was suddenly sitting on the younger man's spleen.
"Shuichi, why are you dressed like a zucchini?" Tatsuha asked, staring at the singer's elaborate (and strangely disturbing) costume. "Is there some sort of party going on that I wasn't invited to?"
Shuichi blinked at Tatsuha and then, realizing that he was sitting on the younger man, got up, brushing himself off. "Naa, K was being super mean about work and told me that if I didn't stop goofing off, he'd make everybody stay overnight and stuff until everything was finished and we got it all right but I told him that Yuki had promised that he'd either make dinner for both you and me or go out with us as a surprise for you, since you've gotta go home soon, but K said he didn't care and so I told him that I was gonna turn into a vegetable if I had to eat bad vending machine food one more time and so he said something in American-ese that I didn't understand so I poofed into a veggie and ran down here to find you! We've gotta make a break for it before K figures out that I'm not really a vegetable!"
Once Shuichi took a pause to breathe, Tohma decided to seize the opportunity and speak up. "Shindou-san," the man said, "if you're unhappy with K's skills as a manager, you only need to inform the company. We could always arrange for you to be assigned a new manager, after all."
Shuichi's eyes widened as he realized that Tohma had heard his entire spiel about vegetables and not wanting to work. "No, that's fine! K is a good manager!"
"Then shouldn't you do as he asks and go back to work?" Tohma asked smoothly. Tatsuha cringed for Shuichi's sake; the singer was trapped, now.
Shuichi struck a defiant yet victorious pose, legs spread wide and one finger pointing toward the ceiling. The effect was sort of ruined by the zucchini costume. "No! All work and no play makes for dull colors and colors are better when they are bright like rainbows and so I must be free to run amuck and then get back to work as soon as--"
Neither Tatsuha nor Tohma got to hear the end of this speech, given that Hiro and Suguru rushed over, grabbing Shuichi by the arms, and were trying to drag the singer back down the hallway. They both had their hands covering Shuichi's mouth and were trying their best to bow and still keep their hold firm.
"Sorry, sorry!" Hiro called, as they turned the corner and disappeared, probably to go back up to the recording studio.
Tohma watched them go and then smiled at Tatsuha. "Well, I suppose it's up to you to save Shindou-san from a full night of work, isn't it? I would hate for Eiri to slave over a hot stove all day for guests who didn't bother showing up for the meal, after all."
Eiri probably would have preferred it that way, actually, so that he could be left alone to work, but Tatsuha didn't bother to correct Tohma, opting to nod instead. "Yeah, I'll go ahead and do that. See you."
Tatsuha walked away then, not caring if Tohma thought he was being rude and not bothering to wonder how, exactly, he was going to release Shuichi from K's clutches. It turned out that he didn't have to plan anything at all; Shuichi escaped on his own and met Tatsuha in the hallway, running full speed toward the front door.
"Run!" Shuichi ordered, grabbing Tatsuha's arm as he passed and dragging the younger man along. Tatsuha could only barely keep up, but Shuichi didn't seem to notice.
"Why are we running?" Tatsuha asked between pants as the two of them left the NG building and were met by a light drizzle of rain.
"We're still in range!" Shuichi answered. He wasn't at all out of breath, which made Tatsuha vaguely jealous. Shuichi's stamina was amazing.
"In range of what?" Tatsuha asked. He was answered by a gunshot coming from one of the studio's upper-story windows; it came within three feet of the pair.
"K!"
That was all the motivation Tatsuha needed and he caught his second-wind, doubling his pace and matching Shuichi's stride earnestly. They pushed past crowds of people in order to escape K's fantastic aim and didn't stop until Shuichi was sure they were safe. They were almost at the park Shuichi always used as a shortcut to get back to Eiri's apartment. Tatsuha wasn't exactly sure who had told Shuichi that it was a shortcut, given that walking through the park to get to the apartment tacked an extra five minutes to the trip, but Shuichi always insisted on going through the park on his way home, even if it was out of the way. Tatsuha never bothered to question it, but he still thought it was weird.
Safely in the park, Tatsuha stopped running to catch his breath, almost doubling over. "He's not going to come running after you, is he?"
Shuichi, who didn't seem at all out of breath, shook his head. "Nah. K's an American and running is against the law there or something, so he doesn't usually do it."
"That's not quite what I meant." Tatsuha sighed, straightening as he recovered. "Do you do this a lot? Run out of work, I mean?"
"Sometimes. I love to sing, but I just can't do it every day, you know? For one thing, my throat really starts hurting if I try! You just can't overuse things like that, but K seems to think I'm some sort of exception." The two of them started walking again, toward Eiri's apartment, and a thoughtful expression passed over Shuichi's face. "K sometimes compares me to Sakuma-san or tells me that Sakuma can sing non-stop for days on end, but I just point out that Sakuma doesn't have a horny guy who loves to hear people shouting his name 'till their throats are sore pouncing on him every time he turns the corner and that usually makes K shut up about that." Shuichi laughed.
Tatsuha decided it would be better not to say anything. Shuichi really did have to learn when it was okay to talk about his relationship with Eiri and when it wasn't as okay. Tatsuha wasn't exactly fond of hearing about his brother's sexual habits and Shuichi seemed to think that things like that were conversation pieces. Tatsuha would have to bring that up to Eiri.
The two of them made small talk until they arrived at the apartment complex, where Shuichi discovered that he had forgotten his key to the building, and the two buzzed up. Eiri answered gruffly; it seemed that they had interrupted his favorite television show--a corny American soap opera he watched every day without fail, claiming it was "research" for his novels--and he was displeased. Despite his obvious displeasure, however, Eiri did buzz them up, albeit reluctantly. The television was turned off by the time they got there, but the VCR, Tatsuha noted with a brief note of satisfaction, was recording.
Eiri looked pointedly at his watch when he let Shuichi and Tatsuha inside. "You're back earlier than you normally are," he said.
Shuichi passed that off with a casual shrug. "K let us off early." He latched onto Eiri's arm, nuzzling it with his cheek and staring imploringly up at the writer. "Yuki, you're not mad at us, are you?"
"Go away," grunted Eiri, shaking the singer off of his arm. When Shuichi, laughing, retreated into the kitchen to get a drink, Eiri turned the television back on and sat on the couch, wordlessly handing Tatsuha a piece of paper.
"What's this?" Tatsuha questioned, taking it from his brother.
"I got bored and decided to do some sleuthing. You can thank me later."
Tatsuha eyed the paper. It looked like a telephone number, but, knowing that Eiri wasn't going to talk about it anymore than he already had, Tatsuha simply pocketed it. Then he looked at the television, which was on, and the VCR, which was still recording.
"Why are you taping this if you're watching it right now?" he asked.
Over in the kitchen, Shuichi started singing--very loudly. Eiri gave Tatsuha a smug look and then turned the volume up as high as it could possibly go. Even then, Tatsuha realized, it was impossible to hear what the characters on the show were saying over Shuichi's piercing performance.
"That's why," Eiri answered needlessly.
---to be continued---