Aikyou
Summary: AU Shuichi Shindou, unwanted by his parents, was raised in America. Now nineteen he returns with Bad Luck to Japan where he meets a gorgeous, bad-tempered blonde…
Disclaimer: Not mine. Gravitation belongs to Maki Murakami.
"bold" – English
"normal" – Japanese
"italic" – lyrics
Chapter Two
"You know, I don't think I've ever been here before," Seguchi said thoughtfully as they entered the dark, smoky club.
"Me neither, na no da!" Ryuichi said happily, observing everything with great interest. A few people turned and stared at the man in sunglasses and a baseball cap bouncing happily, having been startled by his loud comment.
"Ryuichi, you're traveling incognito. That means keeping a low profile," Seguchi hissed.
"I don't think he could keep a low profile if he tried," Yuki snorted. Ryuichi's eyes were hidden, but his mouth began to tremble in a telltale way.
"Why are you so mean?" the vocalist wailed. Seguchi sighed as more people craned their heads around to observe the small group.
"My point exactly," Yuki smirked. The smirk fell from his face as he saw the gun pointed at his temple, and the vicious smile on the so far silent American's face.
"Eiri-san, shut up. K-san, put the gun away. Ryuichi, stop crying, please. You wanted to come here so badly to see this band, now we're here and they're about to go on. You don't want to miss anything, do you?" Seguchi pointed out. Ryuichi brightened immediately, and K slid the gun back beneath his jacket.
"You're insane," Yuki muttered, eyeing the blonde American with distaste.
"Should you really insult someone who's packing heat?" K said mildly, his eyes glittering with amusement and something that made Yuki keep his mouth shut.
"You're right!" Ryuichi exclaimed. "Come on, I want to sit close to the stage…" the brown-haired man tugged N-G's producer after him as he moved closer to the stage. Just as the four men were sitting down, the club went totally dark. A spotlight shone on a man in his thirties with black hair and a long sleeved black shirt, standing with a microphone in hand. He must be the owner, both Yuki and Seguchi thought to themselves.
"For your pleasure tonight, ladies and gentlemen, all the way from Los Angeles, I give you BAD LUCK!" he announced before the entire stage lit up to reveal three people behind him.
The music started low, thrumming, from the pretty light haired girl on the synthesizer. It moved deep inside you, in places that would make the more innocent blush and squirm. The guitar soon joined in with a lighter but stronger melody, causing feet to tap almost involuntarily to the beat and fingers to tap against their will. Then the beautiful pink-haired angel before the microphone began to sing.
The audience was enraptured as the voice moved like some honey liquor inside of them, spreading warmth from the inside out. The boy's voice lifted then dipped, going unimaginably sultry before rising into a crescendo of raw sound. Seguchi had to struggle to keep his mouth closed. It had been a long time since he'd been so impressed with an artist. The question is…
Who is he?
The question flitted through his mind as Yuki stared at the beautiful creature before him, watching that body move sinuously as that sinful voice continued to pour from that smooth, pale throat and over those full, crimson lips. It had been a long time since he'd wanted someone so badly at first sight, but there was no denying that he wanted this man. He felt himself stir as he looked at those half-lidded violet eyes. What was happening to him? Yuki wondered as he felt the strong, unmistakable feelings of desire uncoil in the pits of his belly.
He's just as good as Ryuichi, if not better, Seguchi mused. While their skill was comparable, their style wasn't. Where Ryuichi's voice crashed over you in waves of skillfully controlled energetic sound, this man's voice slipped inside of you and made you a part of it. With Ryuichi you were the beach under the waves, with this pink-haired vocalist you were the waves. I have to get them to sign to N-G, Seguchi decided. He snuck a peek at Ryuichi, who was nodding encouragingly at the boy on stage, a proud smile on his face. From Los Angeles, hmm? Ryuichi has some explaining to do…
The audience roared with approval as the song came to an end. The vocalist blushed (adorably, Yuki thought) and spoke into the micro phone.
"Thank you! That was Hypnotic Seduction. This next song is called Rage Beat," the boy said, sounding somewhat nervous. Yuki felt his mouth twitch into a smile. Not a smirk, or sneer, but a true smile. Seguchi caught it out of the corner of his eye and turned to stare. Following his brother-in-law's line of sight he smirked and leaned over to whisper in Yuki's ear.
"Like what you see?" Yuki jumped slightly and glared at the blonde.
"None of your business," he growled as Seguchi's laugh. He was about to reply when the music started again. This time it was fast, although no less insidious. The effect was less erotic and more energetic, as if encouraging the audience to dance. Some of the audience did get up and start dancing to the techno music, Ryuichi included. K watched out Ryuichi, and Yuki and Tohma watched the younger singer. When the song was over, Ryuichi collapsed back into his seat, grinning happily and clutching the stuffed rabbit that was beginning to look a little worse for wear.
"Aren't they good, na no da! Ryuichi said they would be!" the older singer exclaimed proudly.
"That you did," Seguchi murmured. "Ryuichi, are you close to them?"
"Yes," the child-like man said replied, puzzled. "I'm good friends with Shu-chan and Hiro."
"Shuichi's the vocalist and Hiro's the guitarist," K clarified.
"This is our last song," Shuichi announced after K's words. The audience groaned in disappointment and the pink-haired vocalist beamed. Yuki's heart skipped a beat at that smile. "You guys have been great! Our last song is called Full of Empty."
The four kept silent as the song's heartbreakingly lovely melody started. Shuichi's vocals were almost unearthly in their expression of sorrow in this last song. Ryuichi was crying unashamedly and even the cold-hearted Yuki felt a prickling in his eyes.
"Like the cold wind cuts through me
Your neglect cuts through my heart
And even though I know you don't love me
A part of me still craves those words," Shuichi sang, his eyes closed. This particular song was very personal, and he was afraid that if he opened his eyes, he wouldn't be able to keep the tears from falling.
"Even though you don't want me
You'll always be in my heart." The last note died away from Shuichi's lips into silence. Almost half of the audience was crying. The applause started slowly, but it steadily grew until it thundered through the club. Shuichi blushed again.
"Thank you! We're Bad Luck! Good night!" The three left backstage, and Ryuichi hopped out of his seat.
"I'm going to go congratulate them!"
That was a little tricky… I don't know much Japanese, so I'm sorry that I only put down the lyrics for one of the songs and that they were in English. But the lyrics for that particular song are sort of important to Shuichi's background…
r/r please! My experience with writing fanfiction is quite limited, so I'd appreciate some feedback on how I'm doing. Thanks to Ashley for editing Aikyou for cultural errors!