Missing Amethyst Eyes
Chapter 3
"I don't know about this Ryu-chan." Shuichi muttered.
"Don't worry, it'll be easy!" Ryuichi replied, being his usual happy self.
"Ryu's right, Shindou," Tohma said soothingly. "I'll know if he sees you because he'll be more pissed off than usual when he meets me for lunch. Either that, or he'll cancel on me." He looked dejected at the thought of Yuki cancelling their lunch date.
"Besides, it's too late now; here he comes!" Ryuichi said. "Let's go!" he grabbed Shuichi's hand and pulled him down the street towards Eiri. As they got closer to the other man, within recognising distance, Ryuichi began to kiss Shuichi lightly on the neck, making him gasp in what, to Eiri, looked like pleasure.
"Shuichi?" Eiri demanded, causing the 'couple' to jump apart.
"Yuki!" Shuichi gasped, acting surprised.
"Yeah, it's me!" Eiri replied sarcastically. "What the hell is going on?" he asked angrily.
Shuichi took a deep breath and told him the well rehearsed lie. "We meed some time apart." He said softly.
"That's bullshit!" Eiri snapped. On the inside, he was panicking; were Mika and Tohma right after all? Would he be the one chasing Shuichi?
He glared at Ryuichi. "Would you excuse us please?"
"Yep, sure!" Ryuichi said, kissing Shuichi on the cheek before waving and walking off, hiding a triumphant smirk.
"Tell me the truth!" Eiri demanded.
"I did." Shuichi answered, tears falling from his eyes. "I'm sorry Yuki." He whispered.
Eiri took a deep breath. "So this is it then… after all this time, it's over?" he asked, not liking the sinking feeling in his stomach.
"No, we're not over yet." Shuichi replied. "Not until we both say we are. I want us to work, Eiri." He said, deliberately using his first name, "But I've given all that I can, with nothing in return. I need this because I want to keep you."
Eiri swore. "This is bullshit!" he said again, raging.
He looked down at Shuichi and his face softened for a moment, but he was so furious that he couldn't see the logic behind Shuichi's words. "Fine, if you want out, then so be it!" he snapped.
"Yuki! I don't…" Shuichi began, but Eiri was gone, walking quickly away.
As he walked, he ran slap-bang into a teenage girl walking in the other direction. She fell, dropping shopping bags full of food everywhere.
Shuichi ran to help her up. "I'm sorry miss!"
The young woman smiled up at him as he helped her to collect her things. "S'okay. But tell me, that wasn't Eiri Yuki by any chance was it?"
"Yeah, that was him." Shuichi answered dryly.
"I thought as much. I'm Kaede by the way, Kaede Kurasawa." She told him.
"I'm Shuichi Shindou." Shuichi introduced himself.
"Really? The Shuichi Shindou?" she asked calmly.
"Yep the one and only." He replied wryly.
"I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused." Kaede said, gesturing at the shopping bags.
"No, I'm sorry for Yuki's behaviour." Shuichi apologised, sniffing a little.
"I wouldn't worry. Hey, I tell you what…" she was cut off by the sound of her name. "Hey, Kaede! Let's go, we're late!" a tall, dark haired boy yelled.
"Coming Akito!" she yelled back with a grin. She jerked her head at Shuichi to follow.
She off loaded the shopping to Akito and rummaged around in the centre consol of the car. "Here, my friends and I are going to a concert at the Palladium. We've got a spare backstage pass, why don't you and the rest of your band come along too? Call it my apology."
"Uh, okay sure! We'd love too!" Shuichi replied, smiling. He looked at the pass. "Ancient Curse huh? Are you guys fans?" Kaede gave Akito a sideways glance and he grinned, "Yeah, I guess you could say that." He laughed. He looked down at Kaede, "We'd better get going, or my little sister is gonna nail my ass big time!"
"Yeah, we'll see you there next Monday, bye Shuichi-kun!" she called, getting into the passenger's seat.
Just before she left, Ryuichi returned. She watched their conversation with interest from the car. "How'd it go?" Ryuichi asked.
Shuichi shook his head. "He… he ended it!" he whispered and began to cry.
"Ah, Eiri! How are things?" Tohma called happily.
"Don't ask!" Eiri answered. Quietly, he began to explain what had happened in the street, and his encounter with Shuichi.
"I see," Tohma said thoughtfully, "You my friend have a problem."
"I realise that!" Eiri snapped. Suddenly, and to Tohma's surprise, he put his head in his hands. "Shit, what've I done? I can't believe I did that to him again, after I promised him I wouldn't!"
Tohma wasn't sure if he meant breaking up with Shuichi or throwing him out in the first place, so he tried to find a tactful answer. "Well if you regret it that much, then do something about it!" he told him.
"Yeah, perhaps you're right." Eiri said softly.
What Eiri couldn't understand, was why he cared so much about their relationship all of a sudden. He didn't want Sakuma-san to have his Shu-chan!
Shuichi had said that he didn't want their relationship to end. But how to fix what he had started?
It was about 4:00 pm by the time Eiri finally got home from his lunch with Tohma, and he was disconcerted when he discovered that the door to his apartment was unlocked. For a moment, he felt the wild hope that Shuichi had decided to come home and almost ran inside. In his haste to find his lover, he pushed the door wide open. He froze when he heard it click shut behind him.
"That was some stunt you pulled this afternoon Eiri-kun." A female voice rang coldly through his ears. "What, pray tell, where you planning to achieve by hurting him like that?"
Eiri spun around to face the speaker. "Who the hell are you?" he demanded. "How did you get in here?"
"If I told you Tatsuha-kun let me in, does that tell you who I am?" she asked.
"No! Come here where I can see you." Eiri ordered, now that she mentioned his younger brother, her voice was awfully familiar.
The young woman moved closer, revealing a pretty faced teen with long black hair and a curvy body. The only thing that gave any hint of her European Father was her normally cheerful glittering blue eyes, which currently looked like chips of ice.
He stared, then muttered the only name he could think of "Kaede."
She nodded. "Very good, Eiri-kun," She said, the sarcasm incredibly evident in her voice. "I'm impressed. You know you knocked me over this afternoon." She told him, her voice hard.
Eiri shrugged. "Sorry." He replied.
"No, you're not, but its okay, I'll forgive you this time." She said. "But what I won't forgive is that little display you put on!" she snapped.
"How do you know what went on?" Eiri snapped back.
"I was close enough to hear. Plus, I heard it from Tatsuha, who heard it from Mika, who heard it from Tohma, whom, I believe, heard it directly from you. You should know word travels quickly in your family." She retorted.
"And I saw the devastated look on Shuichi's face when he helped me off the ground! You really hurt him!" She yelled.
That made him take notice. "Really?" he asked, and she nodded. Eiri sat down hard.
Kaede's face softened and she knelt beside him. She rested a hand on his cheek, "What happened to you Eiri-kun?" she asked softly.
Eiri glared at her, "What? Tatsuha didn't tell you?" he said scathingly.
"Well yeah, he did. But even so, there's something behind all that. A fear of something…a fear of losing the one person that you have learned to love, and a fear of baring your soul to him." She whispered. She looked him straight in the eye, "You don't want to lose the most important person in your life all over again, do you Eiri-kun?" she asked him.
Eiri remained silent as she checked her watch. "I've got to go, but here." She handed him a card. "It's next Monday, at the Palladium. It would mean a lot to us if you'd come. The details are on the pass." She told him and he nodded.
Kaede turned when she reached the door. "I miss the old Eiri," she said, "Our big brother who looked out for us; who sat in the garage and listened patiently to a bunch of 8 and 10-year-olds that could hardly carry a tune!"
Eiri looked at her in surprise, and then found himself suddenly smiling. "He's still here somewhere." He answered, and put his hand over his heart. "I promise."
Kaede smiled back and closed the door softly, but not before hearing his final quip; "I hope you've improved since then, I don't think my ears could take it!" she chuckled to herself as she went downstairs.
Akito was waiting for her in the car. As they drove home he asked her; "Isn't this meddling? Perhaps we shouldn't interfere."
She looked at him sideways, "Perhaps, but I want Eiri to be happy, and he deserves it." She grinned, "Besides, didn't you see the look on Tatsuha's face when I said the words 'Shuichi', 'Ryuichi' and 'together' in the same sentence?"
Akito laughed. "That's true. All right, I see your point. Anyway, this could be fun; not to mention interesting."
Kaede smirked. "Exactly!" she said softly.
