Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own Gravitation, Murakami Maki has that honor.

AU My take on what might have happened if Shuichi had not managed to get there in time to save Reiji from Yuki. Manga Vol. 9.

DeMoN4EvA--Thank You so much, FINALLY, FINALLY, FINALLY! As for Shu's hair think military style. I have read all 12 Manga, translated 12. Also, Murakami has restarted the series and Tracks 55, 56, 57, 58 can be downloaded from Genzo Spica (In Japanese).

Discoveries Made

Chapter 3

The rain that had been pounding Tokyo had lessened to no more that a slight drizzle by the time Tohma Seguchi arrived home from work.

"Mika-chan, I am home."

When he received no answer he made a quick look through the apartment's rooms and found them empty. 'Damn that woman', he thought to himself she knew that he had planned to catch a flight to the United States this evening. He wanted to try to make some amends for the fight this morning and to make sure everything was OK with the baby before he left.

Tohma made a few quick calls to Mika's physician and to the local hospital to make sure she had not gone into labor. No one had seen or heard from her today. He even made a call to Mika's father to see if she had been so angry that she would have returned there. His only respone from Mika's father was a rant from the old man about ungrateful children.

Tohma really did not want to leave without speaking to Mika first, but if he didn't start getting ready now, he would miss his flight. He raced to take a quick shower and came out still dripping. He could pack and dry off at the same time.

Tohma opened the closet to get out his luggage and found the luggage gone. He looked up and pinned to his travel suit was a note from Mika.

My dearest Tohma,

If you are reading this, you know that I have gone. Know also, that I have no intention of ever returning. I have finally come to the place where looking at your face sickens me, you manipulative bastard. Goodbye and Gook Luck with you trip to New York, but, if I were you, I would make sure that my passport was in order before leaving.

Best Wishes,

Your Oh, so Loving Wife, Mika

Tohma immediately went to the desk and checked the drawer for his passport. Mika's was there, but his was gone. The passport was gone, the travel money was gone. Even the bank cards, credit cards, bank books, and check book were all gone. She had not even left him any car keys, he had taken taxi's today and did not even have a set with him. He went quickly to the computer to check his on-line bank statements and found that each and every account had been reduced by half.

Tohma sat back in his desk chair and began laughing. At least she had not taken everything, and she very easily could have. And, even he had to admit it was a brilliant move. Mika had managed in one smooth move to throw all of his carefully laid plans into disorder. And, with the kind of money she had to play with, it would be very difficult to locate her.

Tohma sighed and placed a call James Sugiama in the States to let him know that he would not able to attend the trial on Monday. He explained about his missing passport and told Sugiama that he would arrive as soon he could arrange for a new passport. He was surprised when he heard the news that Yuki-san would be coming home and that there was no need for him to try to get a passport right away.

"Oh, Mika, you brilliant, beautiful, conniving bitch," Tohma muttered aloud, "You did manage to screw things up. But, I do not think it is as bad as you thought. So, I can't be Yuki's savior at the trial. But, I will certainly be waiting for him at the airport. And, once he gets here, we'll see how well you can really play. I think that this should be fun. You won round one, but the game is not over yet."

Tohma did have to give Mika kudos from managing to distract him from his current game.

"Do not forget Mika-san, I can play several games at once." Tohma grabbed the phone and started making calls.

Ryuichi, Tatsuha, and Hiro had spent the entire day going to tourist areas in Brooklyn. Part of the morning had spent at Coney Island, where Kumagarou had really enjoyed the roller coaster. They had then walked to the Japanese Botanical Gardens, where they spent the rest of the afternoon. They stopped at an outdoor Taco stand for the food, but mostly for a few beers before returning to the hotel.

Ryuichi did not know how much time Tatsuha and Hiro had spent actually looking for Shuichi, or if they were even looking for the right thing. He felt that neither Tatsuha nor Hiro were taking this whole thing seriously. Ryuichi really felt that Hiro would be trying harder due to his love for Shuichi, and that Tatsuha would at least be trying out of love for him and because he wanted it so much. He had not realized before Shuichi disappeared, how much he looked forward to seeing him every day and how much he enjoyed drawing and just playing with him actually meant. Ever since Shuichi had disappeared, Ryuichi had felt an empty place in his chest, and it hurt.He didn't like the pain and knew that he would do anything to end it.

Ryuichi imagined Hiro and Tatsuha both looking for that same pink haired little boy they had known back in Japan. But,he knew better. He knew that Shuichi could not have remained unnoticed for so long if he had maintained that pop star look. Shuichi had to have made some changes in his appearance to have been able to remain hidden for so long. Ryuichi believed that Tatsuha's and Hiro's main problem was that they were looking with their eyes. They needed to be looking with their hearts.

After the tour of Brooklyn today, they were planning on moving on to Long Island tomorrow. Hiro and Tatsuha were planning on going to Splish Splash, but Ryuichi didn't know how well Kumagarou would like the water park. But, heknew that leaving Brooklyn was not right Shuichi was here. He had to be here, Kumagarou said so. Kumagarou had also told him that he would find Shuichi today, not tomorrow. And, so far, they had found nothing. They had not encountered anyone who even vaguely resembled Shuichi. And, somewhere in his heart, Ryuichi knew that if he did not findhim tonight, he never would.

The taco stand where they had stopped to eat was only a few blocks from the hotel, so they decided to walk back instead of taking a taxi. The entire area seemed to be populated with restaurants and clubs that catered to a Japanese population. Even the taco stand where they had eaten had a subscript menu in Japanese. Ryuichi was starting to feel that pain in his chest again.

"Why so glum, Ryu?" Tatsuha asked.

"I was so sure, so sure that we would find him today."he pouted.

"Come on, Ryu!" Hiro scolded, "You didn't really expect to find him riding the roller coaster at Coney Island, did you?"

"N-Not really,"he was almost crying, "I just wanted to go places where there would be lots of people." Ryuichi pulled the pink bunny out of his pocket and began hugging him.

Tatsuha gave Hiro a dirty stare, "I really am sorry Ryu," he said while putting his arm around the older singer, "there is always tomorrow. And, I can't imagine him not showing up for Yuki's trial on Monday."

"No, there are no tomorrows, if we don't find him today, we won't ever find him."

"Hey, look Ryu," Tatsuha called trying to cheer up his friend and sometimes lover, "Look Ryu, this club is having karaoke tonight. Let's go in for a drink, it could be fun."

Ryuichi didn't feel much like fun right now. He started to protest but then he thought that he should really give something back to Tatsuha. After all, he knew that neither Tatsuha nor Hiro believed that Shuichi could be found, and they had both come all this was just to make him happy.He looked up at the pulsing neon lights to catch the name of the club, and his entire spirit felt like it was being lifted off of the ground.

"Pika, pika," Ryuichi yelled pointing to the lights, "Yes, let's go in. Let's sing karaoke tonight."

The karaoke was not due to start until 9:00 pm and it was only a little after 8:00 pm. As soon as he entered the club, Ryuichi felt a breath of anticipation. He knew that something was going to happen. The club was already nearly full and he noted a stage with musical instruments set up. So, the club had a live band, but they must be taking a break because the only music was coming from a juke box. He, Tatsuha, and Hiro took the last empty table in the building. Hiro had just gotten out of his seat to go and get a round of drinks when the door opened again to admit two more men. Something about these men registered in Ryuichi's memory and put him on alert.

"Tatsuha, don't turn around and look, but those two men who just came in, I think they have been following us."

"Which guys?" Tatsuha asked a little too loudly.

"Shhh, and don't turn to look for them. You'll know them when you see them, they're wearing suits. I remember seeing them at the entrance of Coney Island and then again walking through the Botanical Gardens. I didn't think anything about it at the time, they could have just been tourists and it all could have just been coincidence. But, for them to show up here also, this is too much for coincidence."

"Do you think we should tell Hiro?"

"I don't think so," Ryuichi shook his head, "At least not yet. You know Hiro, he would just try to confront them. We don't need that right now."

"Hey dudes, whatya talkin bout, not me I hope?" Hiro asked when he returned to the table with the drinks. "Are you planning on singing tonight Ryuichi?"

"Yeah, you know I have to sing…." Ryuichi's statement was interrupted by the stage lights coming on and an announcer coming out onto the stage.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to Rage Beat. As you all probably already know, we are having Karaoke tonight. However, there is still some time before that is scheduled to begin," the announcer was interrupted by boos from the crowd, "OK, OK, we'll get toit soon enough. But, in the meantime, I hope you will welcome our house band, OUTRAGEOUS!" Many loud cheers now replaced the booing as the band entered the stage.

Ryuichi took one look at the band and felt his heart stop.

"Hiro," Ryuichi shouted over the cheering, "Would you go and get us another round of drinks, please?"

"Me, why me? I got the last round. It's you turn."

"Please, please Hiro, just this once. I promise I'll get the next ones."

Hiro grumbled, but he did go. Whenthe red headwas far enough away that he could not overhear, Ryuichi turned to Tatsuha. "He's here, he's here. Kumagarou said I would find him today, and he's here." Ryuichi almost shouted at Tatsuha.

Tatsuha quickly put his hand over his friend's mouth. "What are you talking about, Ryu? Who's here? Shuichi? I don't see him, where is he?"

Ryuichi knew that his friend was still looking with only his eyes. "Look at the band Tat-chan."

Tatsuha looked as carefully as he could at each of the band members, especially the singer. He did not see anyone who even vaguely resembled Shuichi. "Sorry Ryu, I don't see it. None of those men look anything like him."

"Look again at the keyboard player, Tats. Look and remember…."

Read and Review—Still begging, pleading. Offers first born child, then immediately takes that back.