Author's Notes: This is dedicated to my beta reader for her birthday. It's a little early but that's to fit it into the contest. So here you are! Sherri! A birthday gift with all your favourite things! Gravitation meets Yami no Matsuei meets X/1999. Scantily clad bishies in tight leather trousers. Tatari. Subaru and Seishirou. All in the name of my favourite (and only) beta reader's birthday.
Ah the crossover of doom… With over 30 characters. A vague knowledge of the series contained within is recommended. (For Yami no Matsuei, check out which houses the translation of all 11 volumes.)
Beta'd by the AMAZING Uzumaki-sama! (http/www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net(slash)u(slash)280678) Thanks a lot for helping me with this! I really appreciate it. (She's the reason I got into yaoi… Heh… I didn't even know it existed before then… Except for that one fiction from the Mishima compound… Heh, let's not go there…) Thank you!
Disclaimer: I do not own (deep breath) Gravitation nor Yami no Matsuei nor X1999 nor do I own any of the characters or settings. All events in this are fictional. Who reads these things anyway?
01
Meifu - Eden
"And what was the name of your band?" The man asked. He was dressed effeminately, in cute little gloves and a matching hat, smiling blue-green eyes peeking out from underneath. Those up to date with music trends would have known he was Seguchi Tohma, President of NG Records, virtually the god of music himself.
"Shinigami," came the soft, almost bored answer. The boy was slender and, well, a little short. He had the brightest green eyes Tohma had ever seen, though they had a darkness that likened him to someone much older. He was dressed casually, a pair of jeans and a pink shirt, the top few buttons undone. His fellow band members were crowded around him. He was obviously the front man…
"Unusual name for a band. Let me guess, Visual Kei?" Tohma asked. Personally, he was fed up with the goth rock bands. They all sounded the same, screaming with grungy guitar riffs and drum beats that left your brains bleeding from your ears. Even so, these guys didn't look like they were trying to become the next Dir en Grey or Malice Mizer.
"Musicians," the boy responded to Tohma's earlier question.
The President smiled slightly. Oh, musicians were they?
"So you're musicians? What do you play?" he asked, testing. Many bands were trying to get under NG's label. Only the best managed it. In recent years only Bad Luck had really thrived and Tohma was hoping for some new blood. What he'd been presented with so far, in this 'open mike' session, was spotty teenagers sounding like they'd just been run over by a bus, screaming out the lyrics to 'Ginza Love Story' with poor karaoke accompaniment.
"I play the keyboard and do all the synthesizer work for the band," the eldest band member said. Tohma regarded him. He had an aura of power, similar to the aura that his wife, Mika, surrounded herself with. Not a man to get pissed off. But he also looked old. Far too old to be beginning a career in music.
"I hit things," a bright blonde said, waving and grinning. Tohma tried not to smile. Of course, put the hyperactive one on the drums where they couldn't do anything stupid… It vaguely reminded Tohma of Ryuichi and Shuichi… Except their respective bands had never learned their lessons and given their hyperactive people instruments. To be honest, Ryuichi was just as likely to do something stupid with a drum kit as a microphone…
"I play bass and guitar where needed," a violet-eyed man said, before leaning over and putting his hand on the shoulder of the boy. He looked comfortable but the boy looked anything but, shoving him off roughly and sending a death glare to rival Eiri-san's.
"I'm the vocals, lead guitarist and song writer. You can probably tell that I'm also this idiot's caretaker," he said as he jerked his thumb at the violet-eyed man.
Tohma sat patiently as a short, teasing argument took place. To him I looked like a typical case of misled brotherly love. No, scratch that, it was almost like the group wanted to mother their young vocalist, but at the same time, the sexual tension made it clear that most had pictured him naked at one point in time.
Tohma sighed. He had been hoping for at least one band devoid of a gay front man.
"Mooouuu! You're so MEEEAAAAN! And it isn't fair to point out that poker game! It was work! And you definitely didn't 'look after' me in Nagasaki! It was me looking after you!"
"Yes, you did a great job. You got me drunk, kidnapped, sliced to pieces and nearly burnt me to death and that's meant to be-"
"Well, you said you have a demo for me?" Tohma interrupted.
Silence fell almost immediately. The vocalist's cheeks tinged pink and the violet-eyed man looked slightly sulky. Even so, the blonde drummer pulled out a CD, handing it over with a flourish. Tohma smiled, a forced little smile, and slid the disc into his CD player, turning up the volume to an acceptable level before pressing play.
He was surprised. The group had made a superb arrangement. A lovely synth noise repeating in the background, adding a magical effect to the overall sound, a gritty, weeping guitar in the forefront, a strong drumbeat, deep, meaningful lyrics… And the boy's voice! Oh, the boy's voice So unlike other artists, soft yet strong, almost limitless in range and pitch. Even Shindou-san might have met his match in this one. Tohma turned the CD case over in his hand. Written in messy romanji on the label it read: SHINIgami - Eden.
"Ah, gentlemen. I believe we should get to know each other more personally. Your names are?" Tohma asked, a lot more interested after he'd realised that the next big thing had just landed on his doorstep.
6 Months Earlier
"This is an order from the top"
Tatsumi looked around the table at the summoned shinigami. Everyone was there except for Saya and Yuma. They weren't going to be included in this mission brief or particularly affected by it Tatsumi had decided to spare Hisoka from Pink House for at least one day.
"It is believed that a very powerful, very evil spirit has drifted over Japan. At the moment, it is lying dormant, having used up all of its energy to get here. It will be back to full strength in two year's time. Until that time, the Shokan Division will be concentrating all of our efforts to discover who has summoned this spirit from its resting place," Tatsumi said.
There was a long silence. He noticed that many hadn't quite taken in the information yet. For example, Watari had still been playing with 003 when he suddenly froze. In a way, it was quite comical to see Watari's eyes slowly widen.
"You're going to jump up and down and yell 'April Fool' now, right?" Watari asked hopefully. As interesting as that scene was in Tatsumi's head, he highly suspected that if he ever developed a sense of humour, this would not be the kind of joke he'd pull. He shook his head slowly.
"But what about all the other cases?" Tsuzuki asked. The violet-eyed shinigami looked extremely worried, as though he thought that Enma or Hakushaku would actually leave JuOhCho without any shinigami to run it. Oh yes, because for two years they'd let demons and zombies run around ChiJou.
"Terazuma, Saya and Yuma will be given help from other divisions. If needed, shinigami from neighbouring countries will stand in," Tatsumi explained, talking slowly. Sometimes he felt he had to speak simply to Tsuzuki, even though the man was nearly a century old, because he often acted like he had the intelligence of a toddler.
The others looked at each other nervously. It wasn't normal to work on one case for so long. A few months was a long time. Hell, a couple of weeks was a long time. Two years? That had to be… a record… There was no way that they could work on one case for two years without going insane!
"What about Muraki!" Hisoka's emerald eyed were flashing. His empathic aura, usually so neatly controlled, was spiking out in his anger. "He can't be handled by anyone except the strongest of us! He cannot be underestimated! Send in an arrogant idiot from the continent and you'll get hundreds of murders!" Hisoka was obviously fuming. Tsuzuki was edging away from him, knowing what it was like to experience Hisoka's telekinetic blasts.
"Kurosaki-kun," Tatsumi said, the tone of his voice the perfect warning. It clearly said: "You're on thin ice… and it's starting to creak…" Tatsumi's cold voices truly were cold. "You have no choice but to accept this mission. You are a vital part of the plan. You have to let Muraki be dealt with by others for now." Hisoka backed down, noting that if looks could freeze, he'd have been a snowman three sentences ago.
"We are to make a band and get onto the NG record label," Tatsumi informed them.
There was another awkward pause before Hisoka began… laughing. Not just the usual chuckle, but a full on sarcastic laugh. "There's no way that will work. NG only takes the best. We'd need to be as good as Bad Luck, if not better. Seguchi-san wouldn't touch a band like us with a ten foot pole. No, make that a seventy foot pole!" Hisoka scoffed.
Tatsumi smiled, his ice eyes glinting, sending the hidden message that said: "I know something you don't know."
"I did some digging into your past, Kurosaki-kun. The doctors noted that you often wrote songs whilst in hospital, including writing some accompaniments on your guitar. You couldn't find any other ways to amuse yourself." At this, Tatsumi realized exactly how Watari and Tsuzuki's minds were working, and swiftly moved on. He couldn't believe how dirty Tsuzuki and Watari's minds were. "In fact, a few of yours songs were included"
He placed a piece of paper in front of Hisoka. It was an A4 sheet with the boy's neat handwriting. Or at least, what should have been Hisoka's neat handwriting. It looked like it had been written with the boy's toes… Tsuzuki couldn't believe that Tatsumi had pulled this. Hisoka had been dying when he'd written these! Hisoka rose to grab it but Tatsumi yanked it away easily, holding it out of the small boy's reach.
"That's private Tatsumi! And I know full well where you got that from! You got that from my last journal!" The one just before I died, was remained unsaid.
Tsuzuki, sensing the impending explosion, couldn't decide whether or not to get involved. He cautiously cut in. "Actually, Tatsumi probably got that from your case file. We did have to write reports on your death, Hisoka…-chan…"
Tsuzuki trailed off as that fiery emerald gaze fixed on him.
"You went through my private things!" Hisoka screamed, trying to look more angry than afraid. The problem was that if you glared at Tatsumi, he could glare back about ten times worse. The courage literally drained from Hisoka.
"Kurosaki-kun. We will be relying on you to provide us with lyrics and main vocals. You do not have an option in this," Tatsumi said firmly, noting how Hisoka slumped into his chair, staring at the ceiling blankly. Satisfied, he turned to Tsuzuki. "You would be the best bassist and secondary guitarist, Tsuzuki-san. I know that you can play the shamisen but we will really need you to learn how to play an electric guitar properly." Tatsumi then turned straight to Watari, leaving Tsuzuki spluttering about being unable to even play the shamisen properly, never mind an electric guitar. "Can you hit things, Yutaka-san?" Tatsumi asked.
Watari frowned. "I'm better at making things go 'boom,'" He replied. This caused a small chuckle from a few others in the room, including Tatsumi himself.
"Well, you'll make a good enough drummer, I suppose," he said, his eyes slightly warmer than they had previously been.
àIn the corner, Hisoka smiled a little, his knowing eyes flicking between Tatsumi and Watari. He felt Tatsumi's utter reluctance to turn away from the bubbly scientist to Wakaba, who was trying to placate Terazuma, who hadn't taken the news that he was going to be spending two years with the Hokkaido twins very well at all.
"Kannuki-chan, you are going to be our management and stylist," Tatsumi said, and immediately everyone looked nervous. Hisoka was eyeing the exits, wondering if it was possible to escape. Recently, Wakaba had been spending far too much time with Saya and Yuma and… well… It wasn't right that they should try to force everyone into dresses. "Be warned, however, if any Pink House dresses come anywhere near us, we'll side-shift you to the head of the Cleaning Division. Understood?" Tatsumi asked. Wakaba just beamed brightly and nodded.
"I'll be the keyboardist. Are your roles understood?"
àTatsumi didn't pause for the to answer before turning and walking quickly out of the door to seek sanctuary in his office. He had no doubt that the angered-excited explosion had been heard all the way in ChiJou.
Present Day
"Well, Kurosaki-san, Tsuzuki-san, Watari-san, Tatsumi-san… Welcome to NG Records!" Tohma said. He had hoped to be able to sign a band with a female member, something that would attract men back to the label, but these were too good to let another label snap up.
"Saaaannnkkkyyyyuuuuuuu Seguchi-saaaaaaaaaan!"
The violet-eyed man, Tsuzuki, was just short of glomping the President. Tohma, who was used to Ryuichi's over-enthusiastic attempts at affection, took an automatic step behind his desk for protection.
"Let's go celebrate!" the bright one, Watari, said, punching the air and dragging the eldest one by the arm. He looked back at Tsuzuki in a slightly pained way.
"I say the saké's on Tatsumi tonight!" Tsuzuki grinned evilly, running halfway across the office to catch up with them.
The young vocalist stood, straightening his clothes and bowing. "Thank you, Seguchi-san," he said quietly before walking calmly from the office.
"Aren't you coming with us, 'Soka?" Tsuzuki asked, poking his head around the door to the boy's room. Hisoka just turned over on the bed, curling up into a fetal position underneath his blanket.
"No. I don't like crowds. I don't like saké. I don't like loud music and I don't think we've accomplished much yet…" Hisoka responded.
Tsuzuki's face fell, his eyes turning troubled. "'Soka? What's the matter? Are you going to tell me? Or do you want to be alone?" Tsuzuki asked. He didn't want to force his presence on the boy. Ever since the incident in Kyoto, Hisoka had been different, caught somewhere between wanting to continue their relationship as before, and knowing that everything was about to change…
"Just go out, Tsuzuki. I have some things I need to do," Hisoka replied.
Tsuzuki bit his lip, taking a few steps into the room and sitting on the edge of the younger shinigami's bed. The blonde looked up at him, eyes confused, before turning away. Tsuzuki raised a hand, gently stroking through Hisoka's hair, not expecting any reaction from him whatsoever.
"You once asked me to trust you with my past… And I told you that I couldn't, for I'd invite your scorn… I'm getting closer to being able to tell you, 'Soka… But I need to know about your own mindset too. I need to know that I can support you, that you know that you have a place to stay too…" Tsuzuki was watching the boy's face, but Hisoka gave no reaction, just staring at the wall.
"Tatsumi-san and Watari-san are waiting for you," he said.
Tsuzuki sighed and stood up, gently closing Hisoka's door behind him. He stood, for a few minutes just staring at the closed door, before lightly pressing his hand against it and walking out of the apartment, locking up behind him.
Hisoka heard Tsuzuki leave and sat up, staring at the ceiling. He hated pushing the man away but he couldn't stand the thought of Tsuzuki being near him at the moment. The man's emotions were still fragmented, difficult to read and sometimes even irrational. There was also the confusion that threatened to consume them both that Hisoka just couldn't stand. His empathy picked up on so many of Tsuzuki's emotions that he couldn't distinguish between his own emotions and Tsuzuki's… It was as though all his barriers were gone.
Which was impossible. He didn't feel anyone else's emotions. Watari and Tatsumi were a complete mystery to him unless he actually lessened his shielding or they were touching him. Perhaps it was Tsuzuki's spiritual power that made him such a strong projector? But if that was the case, then why didn't Tatsumi project like crazy too? And wouldn't that mean that the weaker shinigami, such as Wakaba, wouldn't project at all?
Hisoka found himself suddenly not caring. After all, it was making his brain hurt. Instead he picked up his journal. He hadn't written in it since he'd discovered that Tatsumi had been going through it looking for song lyrics. While he admired the man's dedication to his job, Hisoka had felt so violated…
Violated…
It seemed that was the only thing that ever happened to him. Muraki, who had physically stripped him of his clothes and carved scars into his body and mind... Tsuzuki, who had forced his emotions and thoughts into his conscious... Tatsumi, who had taken his possessions… Even Watari, who had slipped various potions into his coffee.
And Tsuzuki wondered what was wrong?
In any case, this wasn't getting anything done. Hisoka opened the pages of his journal, staring at the date marked five months previously and reading what he'd written. It was stupid drivel, he knew, but if one couldn't emo in their own journal, where else could they?
He picked up a pen, carefully recalling the day's events, chronicling them in an orderly, businesslike fashion. It almost read like a shopping list.
"Went to NG and met Seguchi. Listened to demo. Were taken into NG. Tsuzuki and rest went partying."
Hisoka paused. He turned a few pages back, stroking over a piece of paper that contained the lyrics of their demo. Had Tsuzuki known the song was for him? Even his name was in the lyrics… Had he not noticed? Did Hisoka really want him to notice?
Why was he sitting here, in the dark, on his own, just waiting for Muraki to realize they were in Tokyo and abduct him? Why wasn't he out, enjoying himself like he knew he should be? After all, wasn't it his success?
Why was he here?
Did he really need to separate himself?
Did he really not like to feel Tsuzuki's concern?
Did he not want Tsuzuki to feel like he felt?
He looked down at the lyrics again.
"Truth or dare!" Watari said, nearly stumbling over. Tatsumi looked pained as he carried them towards their apartments. They were on the seventh floor of some high-rises in Shinjuku. For once, Tatsumi hadn't been stingy. In any case, they had rented out two, one for Watari and Tatsumi to share, one for Hisoka and Tsuzuki. It had been decided by drawing straws who would go where, and to be honest, Tsuzuki was glad that he hadn't drawn Watari or Tatsumi. After all, he didn't want to have to explain monkey tails to Seguchi-san, nor did he want the awkward sexual tension between himself and Tatsumi.
"You are so drunk, Watari-san," Tsuzuki said, shaking his head. Watari just blushed and grinned.
"Aa-aa! So, truth or dare, Tsuzuki-san?" he asked. Tsuzuki looked to Tatsumi for help, but the secretary was too busy trying to keep Watari upright.
"Truth?" he tried, and knew immediately from Watari's suddenly evil look, that it had not been the right answer.
They began to climb the stairs since the lift was temporarily out of order for repairs. Stupid thing had broken earlier.
"Have you ever pictured Bon naked?" Watari asked, using his pet name for Hisoka.
àTsuzuki felt his face flame, that was not the question that he had wanted. Had he ever pictured Hisoka naked? He didn't have to! He'd seen Hisoka naked! Although only a few times, mostly by accident when they'd been sharing a hotel room and the like. Even so…
"Tsuzuki luuurrves Bon!" Watari cackled. Tsuzuki just kept his eyes on where he was going. He heard a cough from Tatsumi and felt like knocking Watari out. Despite the fact everyone thought that he was oblivious to Tatsumi's feelings, he wasn't. He knew Tatsumi still loved him, but he also knew that he only really wanted one person now.
nureta hitomi no oku aoi tsuki wa shizuka ni kobore ochite yuku
"Did you hear that?" Tsuzuki asked suddenly. They were on the seventh floor, just outside the door to their apartments. Tsuzuki and Hisoka had chosen number 8, while Watari and Tatsumi were across the hall at number 9.
Azayaka na sekai wa oto mo naku shizuka ni yami ni kiete yuku
"Is that… Bon?" Watari asked. Tsuzuki nodded, leaning against the wall and closing his eyes. Hisoka was singing to himself? All alone in the apartment… He probably had a book in his lap, whilst curled up on the sofa. He probably hadn't even turned any lights on, trying to read by moonlight, knowing that it would just make his eyes tired enough to let him drift off into a dreamless, nightmare-less, sleep.
byou yomi no naka kake meguru yami no naka o
soshite arata naru toki o mukae ima ...
When was it that Hisoka had written this song? It had been the first one he'd written that they had chosen to actually learn for their undercover work. But even so… Hisoka… How much effort had he put into this? Something he was sure wouldn't work? Hell, they didn't even know what kind of monster they were even up against yet. And Hisoka had given his all, just so the three others wouldn't have to worry… So that they could complete their mission and get back to JuOhCho as soon as possible.
Hisoka…
kizutsuita kuroi tsubasa tsuki no akari ni
terasarete utsukushiku maiagare
"Injured black wings, ne?" Watari whispered. Tsuzuki sighed. This song, it had probably been written just after the incident with Minase Hijiri… the time when… when… Oh, god… What was he doing, leaving Hisoka in there all on his own when he was depressed?
shinkou no kuchidzuke ga ima kokoro no oku ni
nagare komu soshite yume no naka e ...
"Goodnight, Tatsumi-san. Goodnight you drunkard," Tsuzuki patted Watari on the head and pulled out his key, inserting it into the lock and waiting for the quiet click. As soon as that small click echoed throughout the quiet rooms, Hisoka immediately silenced.
"'Lo Hisoka!" Tsuzuki bounded in. Could he really show Hisoka how he was feeling? He didn't want to hurt the boy. "You're singing to the moon! How romantic!" He skipped over and plopped next to Hisoka on the couch. He had been perfectly right about what the boy had been doing, sitting on his own, nearest the French windows with a book on his lap.
"I-I was not sing-" Hisoka began, but Tsuzuki tapped him on the nose.
"Please, continue," he said, his façade gone. Tsuzuki knew his expression had turned deadly serious despite his greatest attempts to get it back into a goofy grin. Hisoka looked suddenly afraid, but then he closed his book and hesitantly shifted over a little.
Tsuzuki found a small smile tracing his features as Hisoka laid his head on his shoulder, a slender hand resting on his leg.
chinmoku no sora kiete yuku senritsu no
MERODII ni ima inori o komete
The silent sky disappears into the wavering melody
Now, put everything into prayers
tozasareta yume no tsuzuki sagashi mo tomete
itsumademo aruki tsuzukeru
I'll keep on walking forever,
Looking for the rest of my closed dream...
kizutsuita kuroi tsubasa tsuki no akari ni
terasarete utsukushiku maiagare
Injured black wings glimmer beautifully
As they soar in the light of the moon
shinkou no kuchi zukega ima kokoro no oku ni
nagare komu soshite yume no naka e ...
Now, the crimson kiss has found its way into my heart,
And will soon flow into my dream...
Tsuzuki rested his head on Hisoka's, wondering how long the boy would allow this coddling treatment. Usually Hisoka would have shrugged him off already, or have denied his request outright. What had made the boy change his mind?
"Next time you decide to go out celebrating… make me go with you, okay?" Hisoka asked.
Tsuzuki made what he hoped was a comforting noise. He thought he understood now. Hisoka was lonely, but he didn't know how to become one of the group. Although he'd come a long way since he first joined the Shokan Division two years ago, he was still a child… Not just a child, but an insecure one and-
"Stop it. Stop thinking like that!" Hisoka sat up, holding himself. Tsuzuki immediately slammed up his barriers, but Hisoka only seemed to get paler.
"'Soka I didn't mean to upset you, I just…" He realized he didn't have an excuse… After all, it wasn't right to be able to hear people's thoughts. It just led to problems in the end…
"Your barriers are broken Tsuzuki… Or perhaps mine are… I can hear everything, feel everything… It hurts…" Hisoka whispered. Tsuzuki immediately shifted away, before standing up, sighing.
"I'll go to bed and give you a chance to pull yourself together again. It might be best if I swapped with Tatsumi-san for a while, ne?" he asked. Hisoka looked about to say something, but the silence still stretched on. Tsuzuki turned and walked into his bedroom, shoving his things into his bags and getting them ready. In the morning he'd explain the problem to Tatsumi and Watari. Perhaps Watari could fix Hisoka?
He pulled on his polka dot pajamas and got into bed. He tried to think of things he couldn't get emotional over—walls, chairs and the like—until he fell into a light slumber.
Tohma looked out at the night sky, swirling the wine around in its glass. Beside him, Mika had a glass of juice, staring mournfully at the alcohol in Tohma's hand.
"I have to meet this new signing, Tohma-kun," she said firmly. Tohma turned and smiled at her.
"Of course, of course. I'm sure they'll interest you. After all, these have nothing to do with Eiri-san this time."
Tohma hid his smile when Mika huffed. Mika had only gotten involved with the last band because Shindou-san had been chasing Eiri-san, and since then she'd shown no interest in the bands unless they were to directly influence her.
"You know, Tohma, Eiri is right. Sometimes you are a bit evil," she said calmly.
The President just smiled and toasted her. ß "To new signings," he said brightly.
Mika rolled her eyes. "Only you would toast to that on the night you found out I was pregnant…" she huffed.
Ending Notes:
Coming up in the next chapter, we catch up on Shuichi and Yuki with a Gravitation centered chapter! Also, Mika meets Tsuzuki and a new band auditions at NG records! The next chapter, as it's Gravitation based, will have less angst, in preparation for the chapter after it, which will have far too much… After all, it has the Dragons of Heaven as central characters. Ja ne!