CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Taxi
"Oh... my God!"
"Pretty shocking story, huh?"
Shuichi had just finished telling his story to the three people inside his hospital room. The two women stared at each other, disbelief clearly seen in their eyes, while the other person in the room merely bowed his head while he listened.
"So, let me get this straight." Kat started. "Your real name is Shindou Shuichi, a famous J-pop star, and the lead vocalist of a band named Bad Luck. Seven years ago, you went to Europe to have your second international tour, the United States being your first. You jumped from one country to another, until you landed in London, where your last concert would be held." She inhaled deeply to continue. "But as you were walking down the street, you saw a hitman who was about to shoot my father, so you came in to save him, risking your life in the process. The result: being in a coma for six months, having amnesia, and having a very weak heart."
"Yep. That pretty much covered everything." Shuichi said to his "sister" as she smiled widely at her.
"But there's one more." He said as he lowered his voice and bowed down.
"Let me guess." Ren said. "Yuki-san?"
Shuichi quickly raised his head and looked confusedly at her. "H--Ho-- How did you know?"
"I went to his apartment when you were missing and mentioned your earring." Shuichi brought his hand up to his earring. "That was when I suspected that you were Shindou Shuichi."
Then she came up to him and hit him on the head.
"Ow! What was that for?" He said as he massaged the back of his head. "Sick person here, remember?"
"How could you be so stupid? Couldn't you think of a much better lie?" Ren almost shouted.
"Why? What happened?" Red finally spoke.
"When Yuki-san found the earring, he asked him where he found it." She said as she pointed at the pale man on the bed. "And Jed, I mean Shuichi, lied about it. He told him that he killed the owner of the earring thus implying that he murdered Shindou Shuichi."
"Wait a sec... How does Yuki-san relate to Jed, anyway?" Kat asked confusedly.
"He was my fiancé..." Shuichi said quietly.
"Oh... Wait! So what you're telling me is that...? I mean, you're...?" Kat couldn't even finish her sentences.
"Gay. Bisexual, maybe... I'm not really sure... I did fall for Ren..." Shuichi told her. "But what happened with Yuki and I that night--"
"Was not good..." Red quietly said.
"Yeah, I know..." Shuichi said in response. "And I need to do something to change that."
"Hold on." Ren analyzed the situation. "Something's odd. You were the former vocalist of the band Bad Luck, whom Kat is currently working for. Yuki was your fiancé, and you also ended up being his bodyguard. All of this can't be just a coincidence."
"I'm afraid not." Red looked up to her. "It was all planned out."
"God, Jared! I cannot believe you! First, Jed's heart condition and now this. What the hell is your problem?" Ren shouted at her brother.
Red looked at them and then to Shuichi. "I am very sorry, to all of you. I only did what was best. If I told you what the real deal was, you might not be able to take the pressure of it all. Just look what happened with those flashbacks, and to think that it were only one incident in his life. Imagine what could happen if people tell him things about himself that he didn't remember... I am sorry, Jed..."
Shuichi slightly shook his head and smiled at him. "No need to. I understand. If it weren't for you, I would never remember. You should say, 'you're welcome', instead of that." He shifted his gaze to the wall in front of him. "Tell me the truth. Was Seguchi Tohma involved?"
"Yes." Jared said silently.
"Should have known." Shuichi smiled. "That guy is a big pain in the ass, but definitely, one of the smartest people I ever knew. Did he plan all this?" He asked Red.
Red nodded. "At first, I didn't want to give into his offer because I knew that you were through after that assignment I gave you. What changed my mind was when he told me who you really was and he had all the proof to back it all up. I didn't even know how he heard of you and Ren."
"He always had his ways with things." Shuichi smiled weakly at him.
Shuichi looked at Kat who just bowed her head, lost in her own world. "Hey..." He softly said to her. He knew that this moment both brought happiness and sadness to her. She always had wanted her brother to find out everything about himself, to relieve himself of any doubts. On the other hand, the fear of losing him as soon as he learned about his past had always haunted her.
He put his hand on her cheek as he brought her face up to look at him. "You're still my little sister. Though I also have another one whose name is Maiko, but I am pretty sure you'll get along with her. You both have the same hobby -- pestering me." He said with a very weak but heartfelt smile.
She looked at him with sad eyes. "Could I still call you Jed?"
"Of course, you could! Besides, I lived with that name for seven years." He faced the other two. "And to avoid any confusion, you could also call me that. Seeing that you're all used to that name. But of course, you could also call me Shuichi if you like, or just Shu for that matter. I don't really care what people call me. So you could pretty much call me whatever name it is that you are more comfortable with."
"Wow..." Red said.
"Yeah, wow... He didn't even stop for air." Ren followed.
"What?" Shuichi asked confusedly at the siblings.
"It's just that this is the real Shuichi. I mean, like, when you were Jed, you hardly even speak, but now, you're like a blabbering idiot!" Ren explained. "Especially considering the fact that you're very weak right now."
Shuichi merely smiled at her comment and said in a soft tone. "You should get used to it."
"Look, we really ought to get going and Jed, here, should get some rest." Jared said to both ladies.
"Alright then... But I'll be back. So, just get some sleep so that you'll be energized before I come. Ok?" Kat told him as she gave him a tight hug. "Yes, ma'am..." He replied.
As soon as Jared and Kat got out of the room, Karen made her way to Shuichi's bed and sat on it. "Uhm... Shuichi..."
"I've already told you, if you feel awkward in calling me that, then you sho--"
"I'll get used to it." She cut him off and said hesitantly. "There's something I have to say."
Shuichi looked at her perplexedly so she continued, "It's about Yuki-san."
"It's all settled. By tonight, you'll be leaving Japan." Seguchi Tohma announced to Yuki.
It was 9:00 in the morning and they were in the same coffee shop where Tohma persuaded Yuki to have a bodyguard.
"I assume you had packed?" Tohma asked his brother-in-law.
"Hn." Yuki said as he sipped his cup of coffee.
"What about Jed?" Tohma asked as he looked fixedly at the author.
"What about him?" Yuki asked with expressionless eyes.
Tohma sighed at Yuki's reply and settled on his seat. 'This is going to be a very long day.' He thought as he stared at him.
'He's leaving tonight...' He replayed these words over and over again in his head. Ren had just told him a few minutes ago that Yuki was going to leave Japan tonight.
'But I thought he's leaving at the end of the month...' Then the realization struck him. "He's leaving because of me..." He said to himself.
That was right. Yuki was leaving because of him. Yuki always leaves because of him, no matter who Yuki though he was. 'But that couldn't happen... I can't let it happen again..."
Of course, he can't. He still needed to tell Yuki the truth. He needed to tell Yuki that everything was just a misunderstanding. He wanted to tell Yuki that he loved him, and always will. There was so many things that he wanted to explain to the author but...
'But how?'
Exactly. Although he had the will to do all of these things, he was very weak and he can't even move without help from other people. He looked at all the tubes inserted to his body. He touched the one attached to his nose and to his arm. He looked at the heart monitor on his left and sighed after doing so. His heart rate was already dropping and it was now at 48.
He knew better than to hope for the best. There was just no way for a heart replacement to take place. A lot of people also needed a heart transplant, so why spare him with death when it was supposed to claim him seven years ago. He knew that he would die very soon; it would be just a matter of days. For a year, he had been expecting this to happen. To lie on a hospital bed and wait for his time to come. But he needed to live... To tell Yuki everything. Just a few more hours was all he needed
"Shu-chan!"
A big sweatdrop was now visible on Shuichi's head. He could recognize that voice anywhere. He had not any sleep yet but maybe he could just spare this little time. After all, these were his friends.
They were all smiling at him. Hiro and Fujisaki just stood there, K had his magnum put away, even Sakano was properly composed this time. Ryuichi, however, was jumping up and down inside the room.
Shuichi smiled at them and said in a weak voice, "C'mon guys. You thought I was dead for seven years and the only reaction you could have is that?"
They were still all hesitant to move after Shuichi said that, but he continued, "It's fine. I can handle it."
In a mere instant, everyone of them was back to normal. Sakano went into his hysterical state while crying buckets. K got his magnum out and pointed it at Shuichi. "You do realize that you almost killed me the last time you were at the studio..." Shuichi had an apologetic look on his face and said, "I said I was sorry..."
"Shu-chan! Kumagorou and Ryu-chan is so happy to see you again! Seven years was such a long time, na no da...!" Ryuichi said as he pouted.
Fujisaki came up to him and shouted, "Do you know how much we were worried? We didn't even know how to move on without you!"
Hiro sat on the side of the bed and hugged Shuichi tightly. "Seven years..."
Shuichi returned the hug weakly, "I'm sorry..."
"Don't be... At least you're good." He pulled back. "Do you want me to call your family?"
Shuichi looked down. He knew that this matter would come up. "No..." He said quietly.
"Why not?" K asked. Sakano suddenly stopped to listen.
"They would just get hurt." He looked at them with a sad smile on his face. "I think you know what's my condition right now. There's no use in telling them that I am alive if sooner or later, I would eventually disappear again. You know how emotional my family gets. It would break them... It's better this way..."
"Stop this nonsense." Ryuichi glared at Shuichi. Shuichi just looked at him, clearly stating that he was not shocked to see this change in the vocalist. Everyone else in the room, though, gaped at him. "You won't die. You will live and you will spend the rest of your life in total bliss."
"Even if I do survive, the person I want to spend the rest of my life is gone..." Shuichi said as he hid his eyes with his brown bangs.
"What do you mean?" Hiro asked. "Is Yuki-san--"
"Tonight." Shuichi cut him off. "He'll be leaving tonight. And I won't even have the chance of telling him that I remember everything."
"Not exactly..." Everyone looked up at Ryuichi. Ryuichi returned to his childish persona and said in a cheerful voice, "I have an idea, na no da!"
He took a final look at the place that he called home. He memorized every detail of it and he remembered all the memories that took place there. Maybe he would come back or maybe he wouldn't. Only time could tell.
"To the international airport." Yuki said to the cab driver as soon as he got in the taxi.
He looked at his watch: 7:45. Everything was settled. He would be on the 8:50 p.m. flight to Korea then to New York. He would leave Japan and everyone in it. Of course, he knew that Tohma would definitely keep an eye on him, but at least, the blonde keyboardist wouldn't be on his tail every minute. So, that was it. He would leave and start anew.
'Jed...' He thought as he remembered Ren's words when she was in his apartment yesterday. 'What was that all about the earring, anyway? And what does she mean about Jed's health? Last time I checked, he was alright after the incident.' Yes, Yuki did check up on him. After all, he was the one who took him to the hospital in the first place. But he still couldn't stop thinking about the possibility that what he dug up wasn't really the complete information on Jed's status.
He sighed deeply and cleared his mind, 'How bad could it be?'
"We will air the live coverage of the launching gig of Bad Luck in only 10 minutes so don't change that station."
Yuki sat erect as soon as he heard the announcement on the radio. He looked at the cab driver and noticed that he was only in his early twenties. 'Great, a fan.'
"Uhm, excuse me sir... Aren't you Yuki Eiri?" The driver asked as he looked at Yuki on the rear view mirror.
"Yes." Yuki replied without looking back at him.
"You know what? My girlfriend's a really huge fan of yours and... uhm..." The driver faltered.
'What the hell... I'm leaving anyway' Yuki looked at the driver. "You want me to give her an autograph?" He said in a calm voice.
"You'd do that! Oh, wow! That's great! She'll be hyped as soon as I give that to her."
Yuki rummaged through his bag and found a notepad. "What's your girl's name?" He asked.
"Miyu."
Yuki wrote the usual. The fan's name and the words, "Thank you for supporting me. Yuki Eiri." Then he gave the piece of paper to the driver. "Here."
The driver received it without taking his eyes from the road. He skimmed through it and put it on his breast pocket. "Thank a lot, sir. This really means a lot to me."
"Hn." Then Yuki settled back on the back seat. "How long before we get there?"
"About 30 more minutes but because of what you did to me, we should get there in 20." The driver said cheerfully.
"Good."
"And now, a round of applause for one of the best bands to ever conquer J-pop music, and even the international scene, I proudly present, BAD LUCK!"
"Oh, great! The show's on." The driver gleefully said as he turned up the volume a little, just in time for Sakuma Ryuichi's voice to be released from the speakers.
Suddenly, Yuki's cellphone rang. He got it from his pocket and looked at the caller id: Tohma. 'A goodbye sermon, maybe.' He opened it and answered, "What?"
"Where are you?" Tohma asked.
"On my way."
"Eiri, before you go, I have to say something to you..."
'This cannot be good.' Yuki thought as he took note of Tohma's tone. "What'd you do now?"
He heard a long pause before hearing his voice again, "It's about Shuichi..."
Yuki froze as soon as Tohma spoke those words. He couldn't even move for a few minutes.
"Eiri? Eiri! Are you still there?" Tohma asked alarmly.
"What about Shuichi?" Yuki hissed on the phone. "And it better be the truth, Tohma."
"Seven years ago, Shuichi was assumed dead." Tohma started.
"Yes, I know. I also know who killed him." Yuki interrupted.
"Would you please let me finish?" Tohma said. "Yes, somebody did kill him, but he isn't who you think it is. He was killed by a hitman who was assigned to kill the leader of a certain assassination brotherhood called the Darkcyd Council. Shuichi saved him, but in return, he gave up his own life."
"Baka..." Yuki closed his eyes to prevent tears from coming out. 'Why did he have to be the hero all the time? Unselfish idiot...' This was the first time he heard this story and considering the fact that it came from Tohma, this was definitely the closest thing he could get to the truth.
"The council leader's name was Niel Martinez and at that time, he had an 18-year-old daughter named Katarina Martinez or better known as just Kat..." Tohma sighed on the other end. "She was an only child."
'Wait a minute. Assassination brotherhood. Shuichi saved the leader. 18-year-old daughter. That was seven years ago, so the daughter would be 25 now. Kat. Kat's 25, and also an assassin. Only child. Could it be...'
"Are you suggesting that the Kat we know and this other Kat is--" Yuki asked.
"One and the same. And I'm not suggesting, it's a fact." Tohma finished for him.
"Then Jed is--" Yuki asked again.
"Her father's savior." Tohma supplied.
"That's impossible!" Yuki shouted, which startled the driver. "You said it yourself! Shuichi gave up his life. Then how the hell did he--"
"He gave up his life," Tohma cut him off, "to live a new one. As Jed."
"That can't be..." Yuki said quietly as he furrowed his eyebrows. Then he snapped back at Tohma, "His eyes. They're not the same! Jed has brown while Shuichi has violet!"
"Contact lenses." Tohma explained. "Both him and Kat use it. Kat has green eyes while he had violet. They had to cover it up because they had such a unique set of eyes, and they also used it so that they could fool people into believing that they were really siblings." Yuki thought Tohma was finished because there was a long pause at the other line, but his brother-in-law continued. "Another reason for this was Shuichi did not want anybody to recognize him."
"What do you mean?" Yuki asked.
"He never welcomed his past, Eiri. He thought it was all pain and suffering, because those were the only feeling he felt whenever he had his nightmares. He was afraid of himself. He didn't want to remember." Tohma said sadly.
Yuki bowed down as he digested the news. His head was so full of questions. Why was it that he only knew about this now? Why didn't Tohma tell him earlier? Why did all of these happen? How could all of these be even possible?
"I really am very sorry Eiri. You see, he was in a state of amnesia, so if I tell him about his past, he would be in a state of shock and might never regain his memory. And if I tell you about his condition, you might force him to remember. If that happens, he would definitely go away and be in denial. So I only did the next best solution..." Tohma explained to the author.
"Have him as my bodyguard." Yuki quietly stated.
"Yes. That way, both of you wouldn't suspect a thing." Tohma sadly replied. "I am sorry, Eiri."
"How long...? I mean, how long have you known about this?"
"A few months before I drag you into having him as your bodyguard." Tohma replied.
Yuki closed the phone as he hid his face with his hands. Now, everything was clear. Why Jed was so alike to Shuichi. Why their resemblance was so incredible. Why he knew that piano piece. Why he knew so much about music. Why he loved to eat pocky. Why he had the earring.
'The earring...' He suddenly remembered what Ren said last night. "The earring... He never took it out... He never even looked at it... But, it was all his..."
'Why didn't you tell me about it, Shu? Why didn't you just tell me that those flashbacks were actually memories... Why didn't you just tell me that the earring was yours? Baka...' He wanted to go to him and tell him how stupid he was for not thinking clearly. He wanted to shout the word "baka" at him a million times. 'But he doesn't even know who I am...'
"Good evening, everyone!" Then there was an applause.
Yuki shifted his attention to the lively voice through the radio.
"My name is Sakuma Ryuichi from the band Bad Luck. Before we go on, I need to make a special announcement. You see, I have a friend that I haven't seen for a very long time now, and I need to give him a favor."
Yuki settled back and listened closely.
"He wants to do something for a very very VERY special person. So just hear him out, alright! Here he is!" Then another applause.
There was a disturbance on the microphone, then a voice emerged through the speakers. "Good evening."
The voice was so weak, like it had no life in it. It greatly opposed Ryuichi's cheerful voice. But there was something more to it... In those two words that the person spoke, feelings emerged instantly. Sadness, longing, pain...
'Oh my god... That voice...' Yuki's eyes widened as soon as he recognized it.
"Do you know where that gig is being held?" He immediately asked the cab driver.
"Of course. The Midland Inn."
"Take me there!" Yuki said immediately.
The cab driver was a little confused by the sudden change of direction but quickly obeyed. "No problem." Then he swiftly turned on the nearest street corner.
"I'm going to make him remember." Yuki said to himself.
Author's Notes:
So, Yuki now knew... But he still doesn't know that Shuichi already remembered everything and that he is dying... BWAHAHAHA!
Actually, I really liked this chapter... I'm really sorry if I already sound redundant with some of my words... I just couldn't help it. I'm not really the kind of person who's into highfalutin words...
THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED! I really am very sorry for the late update on the previous chapter. don't worry, I would definitely finish this fic... I won't leave it hanging... maybe in mid-april, it would be done. thanks for the support!
ei, why didn't anyone complain about the sudden shift of points of view as the story went on? god, i was so stupid! i just read the story a few hours ago, and i noticed that it didn't turn out the way i wanted it to be. there should have been two spaces before another person's perspective. don't worry, i've edited everything. it should be much clearer by now. sorry again!
these days
i seem to find
a million reasons to sit around
and waste my mind
i know what's being said and that's all fine
you tell me to get a life
do you understand the weight of that line?
take me for all i am
coz i can find my own way
big date tonight
there's no tomorrow
so let's leave it on the line
coz there's time
it's not too late
to change direction
turn you head son
so let's leave it on the line