Note: Woohoo! (cheers and hands out cookies) Thanks for the reviews everyone!
Kitty in the Box: sorry I didn't include you in the last batch of shout-outs… Thank you for reading and reviewing! (blushes)
DarkMetalAngel of Destruction: Hmmm… (smirks) We'll see about that…
DemonicDragon666: Teehee… Me don't have time to write in me home… (sheepish grin) so chappies are utterly short…
Cutelilpuppieyez: thank you! (smiles widely) Yuki's daddy is scary, ne?
Akinoko: Tsch. Kyoto is a pretty place and I happened to come across some people who knew much about it— including the cute, good-looking guy I saw at a restaurant. (shrugs) I want to go to Japan though! (hint) (hint)
Alchemistgrl09: Err… yeah! (beams)
Fan girl Vee-chan: It's… teehee… Himitsu!… so… hehe… nice twist?
Whitejakle: Thank you! Merci! Gracias! Maraming Salamat! Salamat kaayo! Arigato for the nice thingies you said… (blushes)
LaDiDaanifan: Yes… maybe the butler did do it… (lol) Yes… hehe. Jodan des.
YaoiYaoiYeah: He'll be fine… maybe. (mysterious smile)
THE BUTLER DID IT! (lol) Um… do help me out… what's Eiri's daddy's name! (cries) I won't update until someone comes up with a name! In case anyone is wondering— those written in italics are parts of Eiri's novels (and thoughts in real time)…
Silent Night
4. There Aren't Many Things
Shindou Shuichi's head hit the table with a loud thud, causing everyone around him to stare at his direction. He already lost consciousness as everyone started to gather around him.
The stranger silently slipped out of the inn— his job was done and his boss would have been so pleased.
Meanwhile, the people who were gathered around Shuichi were watching him carefully— hoping that he wasn't in any way hurt.
But the fact that Shuichi lay motionless hours after did not alleviate the fear that he may in fact be dead…
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So how'd you like it? Huh? (reads the fic) (laughs) How did THAT get in there?
Here's the real one… Sorry for anyone who might have had a heart attack after reading the first one…
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Silent Night
4. There Aren't Many Things
Shuichi rubbed his forehead, occasionally blinking to get the pain out of his system.
"Sorry man," a familiar voice sad, helping Shuichi sit up, "I didn't look where I was going."
"Tatsuha?" the Bad Luck vocalist asked, looking at the guy with grey eyes closely.
"Eh? Aniki? Oh. Purple eyes. Shuichi?" asked Tatsuha, confusion written on his face, "you dyed your hair… blond…?"
"It's always been blond," Shuichi laughed at the look on the young monk's face, "you can't properly dye black hair pink, you know… what are you doing here anyway?" He rubbed his forehead forlornly.
"Eh? Oh. I was looking for someone." Shuichi's blond? That would explain why he's so— gullible.
"Yeah? Who?" asked Shu.
"Himitsu…" muttered Tatsuha, "so, you like it here?"
"Pretty much." Shuichi shrugged, thinking that Tatsuha wouldn't like it if he didn't appreciate the effort the young Uesugi put in finding a place for him to stay in.
"Good. I had to seduce some old women just to get you the best room of the place." With that, Tatsuha wandered off.
"Eh?" Shu sweatdropped, while imagining Tatsuha in a room full of geezers. He laughed, shook his head and dialed Hiro's number.
There was no answer.
"Hmm?" thought Shu, "that's weird. I thought Hiro was going to stay home…"
"Tatsuha?" Shu called, looking around, trying to find the young monk, "ne… I was just wondering…" He found to his dismay that the monk had completely disappeared. Never mind… I was just wandering exactly how many people knew I was here…
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Yuki was a little worried that Shuichi hadn't arrived home yet, but decided against calling Tohma or Hiro about it. He wasn't going to fall for the trap they set. (Which is to make him confess his true feelings for the Bad Luck vocalist.)
He still had a novel to finish— and after which, he'd tell Shuichi about another one of his father's stupid attempts at making them break up.
His father had arranged another wedding for them— this time, with one of the most beautiful women in all of Japan. The monk had probably thought that she would make Eiri forget about Shuichi.
He doesn't understand.
No one would ever understand.
Not even Eiri himself.
Yuki ran a hand through his flaxen locks and sighed. He sat in front of his laptop and started typing away the words that readily formed in his head.
He had just finished reading a book on one of the shelves, when he felt a sickening jolt at the pit of his stomach.
'That's weird,' he muttered to himself, 'I already finished eating dinner.'
Looking around, the singer noticed that there was no one else in the room anymore. Everyone had already parted and gone to their respective rooms, leaving the living room in a quiet and slightly forlorn mood.
Even the friend that had unexpectedly arrived was nowhere to be found.
He stood up, feeling unnerved.
Something wasn't right— he could feel it. A suspenseful breeze tickling the side of his face and the fear inside of him that was mounting until his body gave in to the need to shiver.
He ran to the far side of the room and huddled in the corner, feeling more scared and anxious than the last time he was alone. He hugged his knees close to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, silently wishing that the thoughts that have haunted him for the past nights would go away.
He whimpered slightly as a harsh voice commanded him to stand.
"Who are you?" asked the singer, not looking at the stranger, feeling the chill in his bones slowly shut down his common sense.
"It doesn't matter— It's useless giving information to someone who's going to die in an hour's time." The stranger laughed menacingly, clutching a fistful of the singer's hair and forcing him to look up into dark eyes.
He held up a slightly curved dagger, sadistically pressing it against the skin of his victim's neck, watching the terrified expression of the vocalist with a cruel smile.
"That's it… come on. Scream. Scream for me." He muttered.
The frightened vocalist could feel tears rapidly going down his cheeks, faster than he could stop them. 'Anyone… save me…'
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Somewhere in Kyoto— approximately 230 miles away— a scream pierced through the night.
"Hey… what's wrong, Shuichi?" asked Tatsuha, looking at the sweat drenched singer, "you feel asleep… did you have a nightmare of some sort?" He appeared genuinely concerned.
"Yeah…" muttered Shuichi, "a nightmare…" He shook his head slowly to clear any remnants of the dream that have haunted his days and nights since the moment the monk cornered him in the alley.
"Do you want me to stay with you?" asked Tatsuha, "until you sleep that is… just to make sure you're safe…"
Shuichi looked up and expected to see something like malice in the young Uesugi's eyes, but found none. He sighed and ran a hand through his now-flaxen locks.
"Why are you doing this, Tatsuha?" the vocalist muttered to the table.
Tatsuha, sharp as ever, caught every grumbled word. He smiled slightly and took a seat across the table Shuichi sat in.
"Because I'm concerned. Dad has been looking happier than he have been in years— and now, you're here… Tell me, why didn't you tell my brother you left Tokyo already?"
"How did you know…?"
"Nobody really expected someone like me to be that perceptive ne?" Tatsuha laughed dryly, "of course… If you don't trust me, then…"
"Tatsuha," Shuichi began, "I didn't want Yu— Eiri to worry about me… I actually don't love him anymore…" Shuichi lied.
They both knew he wasn't telling the truth.
So Tatsuha just decided to play along. "Well… it can't be helped," he said, shrugging, as if he believed what the Bad Luck vocalist was saying. He said it in a carefree, singsong way that caused Shuichi to bite his lower lip to prevent the tears that were pricking his eyes to fall.
"Oh yeah!" said Tatsuha, clapping his hands together, "since you're not in love with my brother anymore… you won't mind if he agrees to another arranged marriage?"
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Disclaimer: Gravi, Kyoto, Tokyo, the world, the inn they're staying in and the PC I'm using right now aren't mine… but they aren't yours either… If they are, I bow to you. XD