Gomen! Writers block kicked in. I lied. This is the second to last chapter. Thanks for all who reviewed, please, read on!
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Wait For The Silence, Chapter Four: Yuki
Briiiiiiiing
Ugg.
Yuki slowly opened his eyes, trying to ignore the phone. Unfortunatly, it wouldn't stop ringing.
Dammit.
He slowly crawled out of bed, half-stumbling.
It better be something important, or else, they're dead.
He finally got to the phone. Looking down, he saw a note next to it.
Shuichi's handwriting. Stupid brat.
He picked up the phone. "Hello?"
ARRG!
Shuichi's voice, loud and clearly in distress, screamed at him. "HE'S DEAD! RYUICHI'S DEAD! YUKIIIIIII!"
What the hell?
"Calm down. What's going on?" A hiccup from the other end, and sounds of a scuffle. A deeper voice took the place of Shuichi.
"Hello Eiri-san."
"Tohma, what the shit's going on? You woke me up."
"I'm sorry Eiri, but Shuichi-san insisted on speaking to you."
"Yeah, I got that memo. Where are you?" "Where I should be at a time like this. At NG."
"And what's going on?"
Suddenly he could hear sounds from inside the studio. Shuichi sobbing uncontrollably, Hiro trying to restrain Shuichi, and gunfire.
There is never a dull moment with Shuichi or Tohma.
"What's going on, you fruitcake?" Tohma sounded like he had a catch in his voice. "Something happened, and now Shuichi will not be in the best shape for awhile. Actually, none of us will be."
"If you don't stop talking circles-"
"Ryuichi Sakuma is dead."
Silence.
"What?"
It wasn't Tohma speaking anymore. "Yuki, my god died. Ryuichi Sakuma, vocalist genius of Nittle Grasper, died."
Snuffling. It was Shuichi again, this time under control.
"What? Him? High-energy, your displaced twin?"
"No joking. Not funny. Come here Yuki. Please."
I better go. If someone's dead, and Shuichi's in pain, someone will pay.
"Alright. Hang on, I'll be right there."
It was a state of chaos in Tohma's office.
Noriko was passed out on the couch.
Hiro was angrily tuning his guitar; it was screaming notes.
K was firing out the window, his gun to the sky.
Fujisaki was watching Hiro with half-interest, but looked more enclosed in his own thoughts.
Tohma was sitting at his desk, staring at a pink stuffed rabbit.
Shuichi, his Shuichi, was curled on the floor in the fetal position.
Oh my God.
Yuki hesitatingly walked into the room. No one noticed he had come in except Tohma, who nodded shortly.
Gods, Ryuichi really was a god to them. Not to mention Ukai and Tohma's bandmate. And Shuichi's and Japan's musical god.
He walked towards Shuichi, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You alright?" Blank eyes slowly turned normal, and a cracked voice answered. "No." Yuki sighed. "At least you're honest. Come on, I'll take you home."
"Fine." Shuichi struggled to stand up. When he did, he needed Yuki's help to walk. Tohma looked at him. "You better keep him home for a few days. The press is going to be murder."
Yuki appreciated the irony in the words. He smiled weakly at Tohma.
By the next day the new had learned of Ryuichi's death.
'Ryuichi Sakuma Dead'
'Music King of Japan, Ryuichi Sakuma, is Dead'
'Sakuma of Nittle Grasper is Dead'
'King of Music Commits Suicide'
Yuki threw aside the newspaper. He glanced over at Shuichi. He was coloring on a piece of paper with blue markers. "What're you drawing, Shuichi?"
Shuichi looked up. "Ryuichi. Like he used to be." That caused a memory inside Yuki to break to the surface.
"Shouldn't you be using bright colors?"
Shuichi smiled. "I threw them all out. Mails here." Yuki looked at the clock. "I'll go get it. You stay here, don't do anything stupid." Shuichi started drawing again. "I'll just color."
"Something for you from Tohma." Yuki said, handing the letter to Shuichi.
"What is it?"
"I don't know. Open it to find out." Shuichi tore the envelope open. He gasped when he saw the letter. He threw it aside and burst into tears. Yuki acted purely on instinct.
He pulled Shuichi towards him and let him cry. He caught a glimpse of the letter out of the corner of his eye.
'Shuichi-san, I know it's hard, but could you please attend Ryuichi's funeral?'
Tohma, you bastard. It's going to be a double funeral by the time I'm done with you.
He wrapped his arms tighter around Shuichi. "Let it all out. Just get it all out. You'll feel a little better once you have. It won't be much, but it's better than keeping it all inside. You understand?" He felt Shuichi's head nod against his chest, and the tears kept coming.
Three days later Yuki and Shuichi walked into the temple.
It feels weird to wear a suit again.
Yuki glanced down at Shuichi. He was wearing a suit for the first time in his life. Shuichi looked up, his face pale. Yuki placed a hand on Shuichi's shoulder. "You don't have to be here."
Shuichi smiled, which he hadn't done in over three days. Then again, most of that time he had been either sleeping or staring into space.
Tohma was standing near the door. "Eiri-san, Shuichi-san." Yuki nodded. Shuichi didn't acknowledge the greeting. "Um, you'd better talk to Noriko. I'm not good at this." He admitted, looking down.
His eyes were far away, probably remembering something about Ryuichi. He laughed suddenly. "He was so stupid. He always did stupid things, then we'd all yell at him. But the one time he did something really stupid, none of us were there."
Tohma's eyes took a shiny glint. "Excuse me." Tohma disappeared into the black mass of people.
Better find Ukai like Tohma said.
They had only gone a few steps when Shuichi was hugged from behind.
"Hey, Shu." The red hair gave him away.
Shuichi turned around and hugged Hiro. "How've you been doing?" Hiro asked.
"Not good. I've really just been sleeping." Hiro nodded. "Yeah, that's probably best. Where're you going?" Shuichi gazed into the mass of people. "Trying to find Noriko."
"Ahh. Um, Shuichi, she's standing by the, um, coffin."
Yuki twitched. Coffin. Like Sensei.
Shuichi grabbed Yuki's hand, forcing him to snap out of his memory. "Yuki, come on, I don't want to do this by myself." Hiro also disappeared into the black mass. Yuki pulled Shuichi towards where the casket was.
There are a lot of people here. But no next of kin if Tohma was greeting and Ukai's by the casket.
Yuki gently guided Shuichi to Noriko. She was crying, but looked as though she was trying to stop. She smiled briefly when she saw Shuichi, then grabbed him and gave him a hug. "Shuichi, I'm glad you're here" was all she said. Then she turned to the next person. Yuki also turned, then saw Shuichi's next obstacle. Ryuichi himself.
Holy shit.
He looked normal, sort of. He was pale, but other than that he looked fine. He was wearing jeans and a tee shirt, with Kumagoro wrapped in his arms. His face was set into a determined look.
Of course, that could have been when he jumped.
Shuichi gasped, then started whispering over and over.
"Not dead can't be dead not dead not Ryuichi not dead never dead."
Yuki grabbed Shuichi by the shoulders. "Listen, I know it's hard. But you gotta understand. Death is just as natural as life. People die every day, Shuichi, and people are allowed to mourn them, but in time it stops hurting. You just have to let time pass. Maybe not soon, but maybe ten years from now you'll understand."
Shuichi looked up at Yuki. His eyes were shining with tears, not for Ryuichi, but for Kitazawa and himself.
Shuichi hugged Yuki, then knelt by the coffin. Yuki watched as Shuichi scrunched up his face, thinking or praying hard. A few minutes passed, then he stood up.
"You ok?"
Shuichi smiled. "I told him I'd be the best musician ever, and that my next song would be for him." Yuki placed a hand on his lover's shoulder.
"I wouldn't put to much faith in that." Shuichi frowned, then elbowed Yuki in the guts. A sudden voice put an end to the nearly bloody fight.
"Everyone, please take your seats." Tatsuha came out, dressed in his monk robes. Tohma appeared out of thin air. "I figured that he should be the one to do the honors." Yuki nodded, then pulled Shuichi forward to take a seat.
Hey. Everyone still hating my guts? Well it's not over yet. Next chapter is the conclusion. And I'm not gonna tell you who it is! I know who, because I've written About three sentances, but that's it! So, review!