Don't own Gravitation, do own this fic. Once again, minor language warning. Tell me if I should raise the rating.
"We believe that Shindou Kun, the lead singer of the group Bad Luck, whose guitarist is in question of being gay, is in the apartment as well. Excuse me, Miss!" The reporter ran over to a young girl, maybe sixteen, who looked positively stricken.
"Miss, can you tell us why you're here protesting?" he asked. Hiro cocked his head at the TV, "Since when is this a protest?" His friends shushed him as the girl began to speak.
"Hiroshi san is the hot one of the group. He's the one that all the girls are madly in love with. We feel betrayed! The band already has a gay member that's taken away another one of our heartthrobs. Wasn't that publicity stunt enough? Isn't this over doing it?"
They ignored the reporter's further questions. Looks of rage were playing across Shuichi and Yuki's faces. "A stunt! That wasn't some stunt for record sales. That was fate god damn it!" Shuichi yelled at the TV to no avail.
"This isn't a stunt either, is it Nakano san?" Yuki asked, eyes closed. Hiro shook his head. "No, this was just a quiet midnight in a temple in Kyoto. I don't even know how it got out!"
"Did anything happen that may have been overheard?" Shuichi asked, sitting back down next to Yuki and grabbing the communal beer. "Nothing happened. I just went to see Ayaka and ended up with Tatsuha instead. I was really confused that night. I was still pissed with myself for screwing things up for you and Yuki san and all that. Nothing happened. We kissed, but nothing further," Hiroshi stated with a bit of a blush.
"Wait, my brother didn't, ya know?" Hiro shook his head and Yuki laughed. "Way to show some restraint you player!"
"Shut up. Hiro's not just some chick with a pretty face. He was having a hard time and I did what I thought appropriate," Tatsuha argued.
"So then," Shuichi said, looked between Hiro and Tatsuha, "can't we just write this off as an eventless one night stand?"
"No," Yuki said grabbing back the beer, "because Tatsuha's here now. How do we explain that?"
"I just came here to see an old, uh, friend," Tatsuha said.
"More like a shag mate," Eiri stated slyly raising an eyebrow to his brother who returned the look with one made from pure glacial ice.
"If you came here to see a friend then how the hell did you get into my house?" Hiro asked a little nervous.
"That's easy. I knew that you lived here so when I said goodbye to my friend, shut up Eiri," he cut his brother off, "I came down here. I knocked, no one answered. I rang the bell, nobody answered, so finally I just tried the door. It was unlocked. Bad idea on your part Hiro."
"Well, I don't suppose if you'd just gotten the crap kicked out of you that you'd remember to locked the door either."
"Yeah! Point for Hiro; that makes the score one to none," Shuichi broadcasted. As he received more glares from the group he blushed and grabbed the beer again.
"Now," Hiro started, looking to his friend and Yuki, "How do we explain you guys?"
"I'm easy! I came to check in on my best friend," Shuichi exclaimed with a hiccough. Yuki took the beer away. "As for me," he said after a swig, "We all know he can't go anywhere without me. But that still doesn't solve why Tatsuha is here. We can just boot him back to his "friends" and call you guys an anomaly."
"But that isn't true!" Tatsuha said sitting down on the bed next to Hiro, who tried to move away and relieve the awkwardness. It didn't work. Instead, Tatsuha took his hands and looked into his chestnut eyes. "I don't know if I mean anything to you, but you aren't just some bimbo to me. I felt something when I was with you. I mean, the kiss, it was different that any other kiss I've had, and it wasn't because you're a guy, it was something else.
"And I heard something too. I don't know if it was just in my head or what, but it sounded like something pretty far away and pretty significant. I sounded like a sign or something. It sounded like it was meant to be.
"Remember, too, that you don't care what they think. You're a rebel Hiroshi. We're rebels. They're rebels. That other guy is a rebel. Make a statement. Come on. Make a move, a wave. Maybe we're in a position to change the world right now."
"Or maybe," Hiro's eyes shimmered with a deep regret, "we're in a position to damn ourselves and ruin our world."
"What other guy?" Shuichi asked. Hiro looked away from Tatsuha, one hand still holding on, and said plainly, "Fujisaki."
"What about him?" Yuki asked handing the beer to Tatsuha who chucked the can at his brother when he found it empty. He went to get another one. Drawing his hand back to his lap Hiro said, "Well, I don't know what the story is, but I think that Suguru is in love with Tohma."
Yuki laughed. It was a real laugh, but it sounded ethereal. "Ha! That's great. Nothing says lovin' like marryin' a cousin. Both guys at that!" Shuichi and Hiro laughed nervously and Yuki wiped tears from his eyes because he was laughing so hard.
"Yuki!" Shuichi whined clinging to the blonde man's arm, "If you don't stop, your going to suffocate." Yuki waved Shuichi off and took a few deep breaths and then sighed.
"Well, if you suspect something, than maybe we should call him." As if on cue, the phone rang. It was sitting beside Hiro on the bed so he got it easily and regarded the caller ID. "It's the studio," he pressed talk, "Hello, Nakano here."
The room went silent and K's voice filled the room over the phone. Hiro got the earpiece away from his head just in time. "What the hell is this Nakano? They'd better be talking about some other Hiroshi."
"No K san. I'm sorry." The line was quiet, and the quieter voice of Sakano came on. "What he means to say is, we heard that you were hazed. Are you all right? What injuries do you have?"
"Lots of bruised, cuts, skinned palms, and possible broken ribs."
"Uh huh. Have you seen a doctor?"
"Nope, can't get out of my house."
"Uh huh. Do you know where the information leaked from?"
"Nope, no clue."
"Are you watching the news?"
"Sort of."
"Well watch. It seems the person who outed you is coming on in five minutes."
"No way!"
"Yes, and do you know by any chance where Shuichi is?"
"Yeah he's right here. You want to talk to him."
"No, I think I'll go pass out now."
"OK, bye."
"Good bye Hiroshi." He pressed the talk button. Everyone was looking at him expectantly. "That was Sakano, he sounded sedated, and he said that the person who outed me is going to be on the news in a few minutes."
All eyes in the room snapped to the television. Sure enough, they were talking about "the first to know" coming on via satellite from a station in Kyoto. A gnawing anxiety took hold of Hiro's stomach and he felt bile burning the back of his throat. He had an inkling of just who it was that was coming on via satellite.
"Alright Japan, are you ready to meet the source of information?" The crowd behind the reporter roared. "Sick," remarked Tatsuha handing the beer to Hiro and noting how the older boy's hands were shaking, "they're playing this up like some sporting event."
The reported touched his earpiece and listen for the signal to start speaking. "Hello?" he inquired as the screen split in half. "Miss Usami, are you there?" Hiro stopped breathing and set the beer aside. He heard it rattle as his trembling hand set it on the bedside table.
The other half of the screen flickered onto an image of a Kyoto beauty with silky, long, black hair, and elegantly long face, and large dark eyes that seemed to flicker with some deep rooted hatred.
"This," words seemed to slow. The world was stopping all around him. His entire body was trembling with, fear, rage, and the possibility that it could be someone else. "is Miss Ayaka Usami."
Hiro burst from the bed, despite all his aches and pains, and ran to the bathroom. He was sick. He felt the vomit rising in the back of his throat, burning with all the nothing that he had eaten in that past few hours, and bitter with the bit of beer that he had swallowed so recently.
He slammed into the toilet, getting the lid up just in time. His eyes watered as he coughed up a yellow bile that sunk in the water of the toilet. He groaned and a little more came up.
When he was finished he realized that someone was rubbing his back. He felt someone holding his hair back. "Let's not call this the first date, eh?" Tatsuha joked and ripped off a bit of toilet paper for Hiro to wipe his mouth. Hiro smiled and dabbed at his mouth trying to ignore the foul taste that was in it, then closed the porcelain lid and flushed.
"Sorry about that. Nervous reaction or something." Tatsuha shrugged and stood, offering Hiro a hand up. He accepted graciously, know that his legs wouldn't support him alone. With the monk for support Hiro wobbled to a chair that had been brought to his room.
Shuichi was waiting with a bag of crackers and small glass of water. As soon as Hiro was seated he accepted the water and took little sips. He didn't want to over do it and end up throwing up again.
"What did I miss?" he asked. Yuki shrugged, "Not much. She's just whining that this is the second guy she lost to another guy. Little brat just had to bring me into it. I figured she was over it. Mika said that she was happy for me being with the little punk." Shuichi smiled and sat down again, snuggling up to Yuki, who didn't protest, but instead put his arm around the boy's shoulders.
"I was dating Nakano san, and last weekend I heard him in my family's temple. It was the morning and my window over looked out little courtyard. I saw him there with Tatsuha Uesugi," Ayaka stated sounding flinty and cruel.
"Well, there goes my career with the family. Dad's gonna flip his shit," Tatsuha mumbled from his place on the floor, cross-legged next to Hiro.
Ayaka continued, "Tatsuha was at our temple on business. He was considered a family friend from another temple. He is the brother to Eiri Yuki, whom I lost to Shuichi Shindou. When I saw Nakano san hug Uesugi, I knew that something was strange. It got stranger still, when Nakano san and Uesugi san kissed. Nakano then turned and began to leave instead of coming to see me as I had assumed he had."
"That's tragic Miss Usami. How long had you been with Nakano san?"
"Almost six months. Yesterday would have made it official. When I didn't receive a call from Nakano san, I decided I needed to make what I saw public."
"She- she won't even say my first name," Hiro said in a sad shock.
"Get over her Hiroshi. She's high maintenance."
"She always seemed like such a nice girl to me," he said, voice loaded with remorse. "Hey," Tatsuha placed his hand on Hiroshi's knee, "paybacks a bitch and her name's Ayaka Usami." The reporter continued with the pointless questions. Hiro stared in horror as the girl that he thought he loved continued to trash his life.
Numbly, Hiro sought for Tatsuha's hand. When he found it on his knee, he latched on. Tatsuha was his only anchor to the real world now. Tatsuha had given him that song. Ayaka had never done that. He realized that Miss Usami had never given him quite the feeling that he got from Tatsuha, and he didn't even know the boy that well.
He tore his eyes from the television screen and blocked out the now grating voice from his ears. He looked down to Tatsuha, where their hands were clasped on his knee. This was what he wanted. A steady, strong hand to have when he needed it. He reached out to that darkly silken hair. He wanted this beauty at his disposal.
Tatsuha looked up surprised from the sudden touch to his hair. His eyes became entangled with Hiro's misted, confused ones. They forgot about the others in the room in that moment. The boy stood and bent over his love for a reassuring kiss. He recognized that it was now his responsibility to be loyal to this older, broken, boy, even if that meant giving up the pleasure of promiscuity.
They heard Shuichi sniffle. "Our own little soap opera, live," Chuckled Yuki as the two blushed and parted. Tatsuha resumed his cross-legged position and Hiro turned back to the TV.
"Why can't we be like them?" Shuichi asked. Yuki looked at him and smiled. "What, you want me to be a slutty monk and you to be the blushing bride?"
"Yeah, it's cute."
"Newsflash Shu," Hiro said taking no offense from the comment, "You're already the blushing bride." Shuichi folded his arms and stuck out his tongue.
"Well, thank you Miss Usami," the reporter said with a smile. Ayaka smiled back even though she knew that they couldn't see each other. "Anything to make his life miserable," she said cutely. Her side of the screen went dead.
"Did you guys hear that?" Hiro asked shocked at what he thought he had just heard. "I told you she was evil!" Shuichi said and threw a pillow at the TV. Hiro laughed a little, but couldn't hide his remorse at her bitterness.
"Hey, I'm not just your rebound am I?" Tatsuha asked and clicked the television off. He'd had enough. Hiro shook his head, "No. You're not a rebound, but I will admit that I am a little sad. I thought she was such a nice girl."
"I didn't. I thought she was evil right from the start!" Shuichi said, proud of the fact the he was proved right for once.
The phone rang. Everyone either jumped or winced. Shuichi, closest to the phone picked it up. "Hiro," he said, suddenly very grave, "it's your mother."
"Great. What else can go wrong today?" He grabbed the phone. "Hello, Mother." A small voice was heard on the other end, but all words were inaudible and muffled. "I'm sorry Mom, I didn't even-" He was cut off. "I'm sorry, I can't-" Cut off. "What? What do you mean? Mother?" He hung up the phone and tossed it onto the bed. Then, putting his hands behind his head, he leaned back and laughed.
It was a sound that could hardly be called "joyful" or relate in any way to happy words. Instead it was a sound that was of utter despondency. It was a miserable noise, and brought the knowledge of something awful to everyone in the room.
When he had finished he relayed the information to his friends. "She said that she couldn't believe that she had to find out about her son's sexuality on TV. She says that she's embarrassed that I'm one of the queer. She thought-" he choked on his words. "She thought that she raised me right. She thought that I was normal. She told me not to ever think of her house as home again."
"Hiro," Shuichi said, unable to conjure words of comfort.
"Nah. It's ok. She and I never wanted the same thing. I guess I'm just another screw up child. Heh. See if I let her have any of my money when I'm a rich old bastard."
"Hey!" Yuki interjected the self-piteous rant, "I know what it's like to have your parents hate you. Don't let it dig too deep. At least not now. We need to think up something for you to feed the press because their back at the buzzer."
"AGH!" Hiroshi was at his wits end and it was really showing, "Why won't they just leave me alone?"
"Because," Yuki was in control, "they're lifeless and they thrive off the drama and misfortune of others. They don't have a heart and they won't stop until they have something to flaunt in the worlds face. You either give them what they want or suffer the rumors and accusations. Got it?"
He bit his lip, but nodded. Taking a deep breath and trying to temporarily suppress all the awful things falling down into his life, he attempted to make explanatory words form in his mind.
After a moment, he stood up. The buzzer was going off. The voice of the reporter was filling the house. "I'm coming," he said as he took surprisingly steady steps toward the front door. No one moved. All eyes were on him.
"This is Nakano," he said, leaning against the wall. No one breathed.
"Nakano. Is what Miss Usami said true?"
"Yes. It is true-"
"So you are-"
"Shut up and listen," he waited to see if the command set, "Yes. I am gay. No this is not a publicity stunt, and neither was Shuichi and Yuki san. Fate has funny ways in the world and seems to like to twist its strings around us in particular, but there isn't anything wrong with that. I am who I am, and I will continue to be that way. If all of you out there want me to apologize for being myself, I'd say you're out of luck.
"And speaking of luck, I guess I know why the band's called Bad Luck. Because we're always in the spotlight and we can't even have a life without someone selling us out for a little money or chance to see us writhe. Or maybe it's because we always have people like you breathing down our backs sucking up every detail you can.
"You're heartless. You know that. Everyone listening should be ashamed. Is your life so boring that you need to feed off of my trauma to get a rise? I hope not. I'm glad if you like my music, but my life is none of your business. So what, I got a boyfriend. Get over it. So what, it's a guy. Am I not allowed to love? What kind of world is this that the public gets to dictate who I can and can't be in love with?
"How many of you people out there think that you're nice? Think hard and then think about how, by you watching this you're making news stations ratings go through the roof and are giving them more money to torment people like me. Just because I can play an instrument well, and I was lucky enough to be found with my best friend I suddenly become fodder for the world's amusement. I guess when we signed that contract; we also signed away our personal lives.
"What if that was true for everyone? How would you feel if every move you made was broadcasted to millions of people? How would you feel if you were beat up, just because you loved somebody? Would you be able to live if you had to watch everything you said and did because you might slip up and seem human?
"Here's your real newsflash folks, I'm human, just like every one of you. I don't get a say in what you do or don't do, so why should you get to say so for me?"
Thank you to XTsukimiOdangoX for your criticism and reminding me just how wordy I am. It hit home and I'm a little discouraged, but for a good reason. My favorite teacher tolm me the same thing, "Rayne, Omit Needless Words." Thanks for the reminder, even if it tweaked me a bit. I'm a weeny anyway winks
Oh, and I know the whole thing seems a little impractical. It was just a story written for a dear friend for a bit of friendly revenge on someone.