Oro. Oro. Oro, oro, oro!!! Reiannah does a little dance Happy 5- Chapter Birthday to me! Yup, yup- this is the fifth chapter that I have uploaded for STLF. Aren't all of you oh so proud of me? giggles Okay, maybe I HAVE had a little too much caffeine for today... but still, any reason for hyperness must be good, ne, ne? MWUHAHAHAHA!!! I AM THE POCKY GODDESS... HEAR ME ROAR!!! mew Okay, I'm done now. angelic smile Arigato minna for the wonderful reviews... I feel so loved. sniff BUT... if ever should you discontinue reviewing STLF, the next chapter will come oh so painfully slower! Or... maybe not come at all!!! To prevent this tragedy from occurring, review this chapter immediately upon upload! Or else! glares at audience Believe me, I have discontinued writing fics before due to lazy reviewers... cough my stupid friends cough... and have been evil enough to leave them at a cliffhanger. MWUHAHAHAHA!!! It is exhilarating to be evil. Anyone want to join me?

Arigato to all my reviewers... I'm sorry but I can't list you all... too many!!! Gomen! I will send Pocky and Ramune soda to all of you in consolation.

To those who cried during the last chapter... It makes me so happy to know that my story could inspire so much emotion! Dry your tears... it will be happier... eventually... if I'm feeling nice... which means there's a fifty/fifty chance of me being truly evil... and having a sad ending.

To my new or more recent reviewers... please continue to let me know what you think of my fic. I love hearing from all of you.

To Demon Girl: Um, can you possibly write down anything different? I'd like to actually find out what you thought was good instead of the same old thing. Please...?

To Cain: Arigato! I think your review was possibly my favorite since I had been hoping so much that you would return to read my next chapter. It made me so happy to know you enjoyed the last chapter. Be warned though... Yuki is still a long ways from being anything near an angel. Yeah, he's going to still be an asshole... but maybe he'll start to be a sweet jerk...? I hope that you won't stop reading and reviewing b/c I told you this. I want more critiques and reviews from you... e-mail me! pout

And as always, I love you Nee-chan! sends happy vibes to Yui-Mag It made me so happy to have you FINALLY review chapters 2 and 3 of STLF. But I'll forgive you this time b/c you were studying for your Psych Exam... congrats on getting such good grades! Extra Pocky and Ramune soda for you!!!

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Disclaimer: If I were Maki Murikami, I would own Gravitation. This would include Yuki, Shuichi, Ryuichi, Tohma, etc. Since I am not aforementioned Goddess of Gravitation, I merely harass, kidnap, and sometimes molest such persons as above. Don't ask for details... you're probably not old enough... maybe never will be. After all, I am evil and possess a moderately dirty mind. MWUHAHAHAHA!!! $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Regular italicized writing indicates thoughts

Bold italicized writing indicates conscience

Chapter 5: This is Your Cue to Shine

Shuichi woke up the next day with a smile on his face and a warm-fuzzy feeling in his stomach. If he didn't know better, he'd have thought he was in love again. But you can't fall in love with a dream, can you? The boy giggled to himself, remembering how sweet his beloved writer had been to him in it. It was absolutely insane of course... Yuki would never buy him flowers in real life. It was just too sappy and romantic for him. And the words he had spoken to the singer.... Shuichi blushed. The novelist had never been able to say, 'I love you,' so freely to the vocalist. But in the dream, he had.

The smile turned a little bit sadder at the remembrance of reality.

Instead of being my dream come true, it's my dream that probably won't ever come true.

He rolled over on the bed to reach for the phone. His hand froze mid-reach as his eyes settled on a bouquet of pink roses lying on top of his nightstand.

It can't be. It's impossible. That was just a dream. It didn't really happen...did it?

As the singer slowly grasped the flowers with a trembling hand, he noticed an envelope buried within the bouquet. He took a deep breath and with shaking hands, he opened it. Enclosed in the envelope, he withdrew a note card with a familiar handwriting. His heart pounded deafeningly in his ears as he read the words.

"Seeking to obtain 'forever'... sing of it when you do." It was unsigned, but the vocalist didn't need a signature to know whom it was from. The warm-fuzzy feeling returned stronger than before as he announced the sender's name to an empty room.

"Yu... ki." His shook himself so as not to daydream and returned his attention to the envelope that held another item. A golden key fell into his open palm. Shuichi smiled sadly, understanding the writer's intentions.

This is your key, ne Yuki? You really did leave. But you're giving me your apartment. You DID come to see me last night. And you did say goodbye to me. But why didn't you let me say goodbye to you? What are you afraid of, Yuki?

Then it became startlingly clear. The sadness left the singer's eyes, being replaced by an entirely different emotion.

Is it... is it that you want me to find something that will last forever? Will you return to me then? And you want me to sing a song for you when I do find it? So that you'll know? And... you're giving me the apartment so... you'll be able to... find me... when you... return?

Shuichi closed his eyes, holding the key to his cheek. He found strange comfort in having the cold object touch his warm skin. Hope began to fill the void inside his heart.

Okay Yuki. I'll do it... I'll seek forever. And when I find it, I'll write a song about it so you can return to me. No matter how long it takes.

The ringing of the phone interrupted the determined thoughts. Shuichi raised the phone to his ear, answering in his most cheerful voice.

"Moshi, moshi! This is Shindou Shuichi." A low chuckle reached the singer's ears.

"Ohayo, Shuichi. You sound a lot better than you did yesterday." Hiro's voice sounded pleased to know his best friend was recovering. Said best friend mentally glomped the longhaired caller as he began to chatter about everything and nothing at the same time.

On the other end of the phone line, the Bad Luck guitarist gave a wink to the dark-haired beauty waiting beside him. Covering the mouthpiece, he whispered a short sentence that brought enormous relief to the Kyoto girl's mind.

"Shuichi's fine. He's back to his old self." Ayaka smiled in sweet relief.

"Do you believe that he has chosen to move on?" She whispered back. Her boyfriend shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know... it's possible. It'd probably be the best thing for him." The girl nodded.

"I suppose that Shindou-kun is capable of making his own decisions concerning Eiri-kun." Hiro grinned.

"Hai, it's best that we no longer interfere with their relationship." She sighed in consent.

"Then I suppose that I shouldn't provide him with any type of 'fuel' to push him forward?" Her boyfriend nodded.

"Shuichi shouldn't have to be the one who has to chase Yuki-san. The faster he forgets him, the sooner he won't need him." On the other end, the babbling stopped as no response had been given to a question the pink- haired boy had asked his friend. Impatient, the singer screamed into the mouthpiece, making a certain guitarist wince and lose hearing in one ear.

"OI! HIRO! ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?!"

"Hai, hai. I'm sorry- I got distracted. What did you say?" The vocalist let out an exasperated sigh.

"I WAS asking if you were going to come by today. I need to get my stuff from your house and take it to mine when I get release from the hospital." Hiro raised an eyebrow.

"Your apartment? You mean you already found one?" Shuichi hesitated before answering, unsure of how his friend would react. After all, Hiro and Yuki had never truly seen eye to eye... and it would be a cold day in hell when they admitted agreeing to anything.

"Yuki gave me his." Hiro's jaw dropped. Ayaka's forehead produced a small wrinkle, displaying concern.

"Nani?! When the hell did this happen? Did I miss something?" By now the guitarist was completely confused.

"Ano, you see..." A sharp knocking on his door saved Shuichi from explaining anything to Hiro.

"I'vegottogocausesomeoneisatmydoorandit'sprobablyimportantandI'lltalktoyoula tergottogobye!" The Bad Luck vocalist made several sentences turn into just one and hung up quickly before his friend could have anytime to object.

At the other end, a certain guitarist was cursing profusely into a dead phone lined. This was the second time in two days that Shuichi had managed to escape answering his questions. Whether the force that aided the boy was coincidence or luck, Hiro cursed it to hell. He continued glaring at the phone long after he had replaced the receiver.

Ayaka could almost see the steam billowing out of her boyfriend's ears and nose. She didn't bother asking what had upset him so much. She summed up the reason for his discontent in less than five words.

"Eiri-kun was involved, ne?" Hiro continued to glower at the silent phone, stewing in his own juices. His girlfriend just wore a deceptively sweet smile. In truth, it was merely a mask that hid an ecstatically triumphant Ayaka. She had been correct about how much the writer meant to the singer after all. But of course she wasn't one to rub that in her boyfriend's face. At least not too often.

The innocent smile turned into a wicked one as the perfect young lady plotted on how many different ways she would be able to push her boyfriend's buttons.

Meanwhile in room 307, a certain pink-haired boy was breathing a sigh of relief. He had once again managing to elude the ever-persistent Hiro and delay his quest for answers that didn't need to be answered. The singer smirked to himself. Maybe his 'Bad Luck' had changed to 'Good Luck.'

The knocking at his door returned, waking him from his reverie. His head snapped up and to eye the door suspiciously.

If it's a nurse, she'll probably make me take some nasty medicine or do some type of stupid test. Nobody from Bad Luck would ever come to visit me this early. Nittle Grasper has to prepare for the their concert today. Who else is there?

He shrugged, knowing he couldn't find out unless he answered.

"Hai. Who is it?"

"Shindou-san? My name is Fujiya Izanami. I am here as the legal representative of Uesugi Eiri. May I come in?" A clear female voice was muffled behind the thick door. At the mention of his former lover, the vocalist froze. For a long moment, he was unable to produce a sound. He finally pushed the button on the side of his bed that allowed remote access to his room. The card-key lock let out a single beep and the door clicked unlocked. Very slowly, the sharp staccato of heels approached. When the door no longer blocked his view, it revealed a petite female in a black skirt-suit.

She had light brown hair knotted at her neck, blue eyes, and a simple smile. She was decently attractive, but before observing her beauty, her presence stood out even more. She was definitely someone that had a lot of power and influence.

"Ohayo, Shindou-san. As I said before, I am Fujiya Izanami- Uesugi-san's legal attorney. I am here on his behalf to distribute his possessions and property to such persons as dictated to me by him." The boy gestured for her to have a seat, puzzled by her presence. Then a knot formed in his stomach. He felt panic rise in his throat. Was it possible for something to have happened to his beloved? He was suddenly unsure.

"Yuki? D-did something happen to him?" The attorney raised an eyebrow at the nervous voice, but otherwise merely continued to smile.

"Uesugi-san is in fine physical health and as of three hours ago, departed Japan. He has left instructions for the distribution of his remaining possessions to the people he listed. But it seems the only person he listed was you." Shuichi didn't know how to respond to her announcement, so he remained silent. The lawyer continued when she saw he would not interrupt her.

"The following pieces of property are being turned over to you effective immediately: His townhouse- fully paid for and furnished. His vehicles- the Mercedes, BMW, and Jaguar. Anything remaining in aforementioned townhouse and vehicles. Besides this, Uesugi-san has signed over his share of NG Corp to you. He was a minority shareholder, but he seemed to have believed his share might be useful to you in the future." The singer stared at her in shock; unable to process the massive amount of information she had delivered to him.

Yuki... why are you giving me all these things?

I don't need all this.

Are you giving me this stuff to show me that you still care about me?


Fujiya Izanami interrupted his thoughts by waving a thick booklet with a lot of fine print in front of his face.

"Shindou-san! Did you hear me?" The serious lawyer frowned slightly at being ignored.

"Ah, gomen Fujiya-san. Could you repeat that?" He gave a sheepish grin, embarrassed at his lack of attention. She smiled tolerantly at him and quickly explained that after he signed on the dotted lines, the assets would be turned over to him within the next seventy-two hours. He nodded, then after a moment's consideration, decided to question the fine print.

"Fujiya-san, shouldn't I read the fine print before I sign?" The lawyer flashed him an amused smirk.

"You can, if you wish. Or you can read it after you sign. It doesn't bother me either way. But I can assure you that there isn't anything in these documents that has any intent to harm, deceive, or take advantage of you. Uesugi-san was merely trying to be thorough in his records so that no one would be able to change or resist his wishes to that of their own. He created these for your own good."

Yuki... you do love me! Otherwise you wouldn't have gone to all this trouble!

"Okay, I'll sign the papers." Shuichi scribbled his name on the document in several different places. When he finished with the last line, the lawyer handed him a duplicate unsigned copy to review at a later time. The lawyer replaced the signed copy back in her briefcase and rose to leave.

"Matte yo Fujiya!" Shuichi grabbed the sleeve of her jacket to deter her from leaving. He needed some answers before she left... after all, who's to say they would ever meet again?

"Yuki... do you know where he went?" The boy looked at her with hope emanating from his very pores. She hesitated at first, but saw no harm in admitting only that much information.

"Hai, I do." She smiled at him cheerfully.

"I suppose you can't tell me?" His eyes begged her to reveal the truth, but she remained firm.

"Iie, of course I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because it would be unethical. It's against client/attorney confidentiality."

"Not even a clue?"

"Iie."

"Doushite?" The singer continued to probe for answers, bringing a grimace to the attorney's face. She had to give him credit though- he was persistent.

"I can't. It was his wish for his whereabouts to remain undisclosed. He has his reasons."

"Is he coming back?"

"He did not say." The lawyer decided to finish the conversation abruptly.

"Uesugi-san will make his location public sooner or later, as he will continue to publish his novels. You will know then. But he asks that you and everyone else respect his wishes and reframe from pursuing him. He said that he needs some time alone to make amends and figure out what he wants to do with his life. He claims that Japan no longer holds his interest." Shuichi's hope turned to bitterness.

"So you're saying that he gave me this stuff as a payoff to leave him alone?"

"Iie. Not necessarily. He did it as a parting gift." Seeing the despair in the singer's eyes, her own heart felt a tug of sympathy. In a softer voice, she allowed herself to speak a few rare words of comfort.

"As far as I understand, he feels that he is leaving behind at least one thing he holds very precious to him. He is afraid to overshadow that it, therefore has chosen to leave it to shine on it's own. If memory serves me right, both he and what he holds dear to him are searching for the same thing. I have known Uesugi-san for many years now... he isn't a man who will run away forever. Once he has obtained what he is searching for, he will return. I'm sure of it, Shindou-san." Tears filled the violet eyes once more. She smiled down at him with warmth, reassuring the boy that she hadn't said those words just to console him.

"A-arigato, Fujiya-san. For everything." He bowed his head respectfully. The woman grinned, turned, and paused only a moment at the door to bid a final farewell.

"Sayonara, Shindou-san. I hope you recover soon. Once you do, make sure you take a good look at those papers you just signed. They might interest you more than you might think. Ja né!" With those final words, she left the room, completing her one and only responsibility for Uesugi Eiri. Her part in the writer's play had been completed.

Fujiya Izanami chuckle softly to herself as she exited the hospital. The Bad Luck singer had a lot of surprises in store for him. After all, Yuki loved twisting plots and torturing his brother-in-law.

Back in room 307, Shindou Shuichi was frantically skimming through the thirty-two-page document that had amused Fujiya-san so much. Her words had bothered him, wondering what Yuki had set into action with his gifts. So far, he hadn't seen anything particularly suspicious. Just certain restrictions on when he would be allowed to receive the vehicles, (after a valid driver's license had been obtained) locations of trust account set up in case of emergency, etc.

Then his eyes fell on the section concerning the share of NG Corps he would be receiving within the next seventy-two hours. Just the normal regulations on what his privileges would be and boring stuff like that. The same as when he had received his own 6% share through his record contract. But something was odd... this list was a lot longer. Seven pages longer in fact- his own had only been three. When he reached the end, his entire body froze. His mouth suddenly felt extremely dry, unable to swallow.

The vocalist wasn't feeling too well. He quickly did a calculation in his head. But the result was impossible. It couldn't be real.

Shuichi felt a headache growing between his eyes, making it even harder to think. He didn't understand what was written plain as day in black and white in front of him. Or maybe it was the fact that he couldn't believe that it could possibly be true.

Yuki, what have you done? Why me? And why NOW? This is absolutely insane.

The leader of Bad Luck continued staring at the paper, waiting for the words to change somehow. They didn't.

And if the fine print wasn't going away, that could only mean one thing...

Yuki loved to add twists to a story just as everything begins to even out.

TBC...

Please review this! I know this story is going in a slightly different direction than how I started, but I thought it would be fun. Let me know what you think and what your guesses are on what just happen with Shuichi and NG Corps. MWUHAHAHAHA!!! I am so evil! This will be fun to write! I had to add more twists; I began getting writer's block! To prevent this from happening again, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!!!