A/N: Sup! Thanks for all the awesome reviews! The Kumagoro and Ryuichi candy bar/review donation is still a little short though… So please, even if you don't have an account on fan fiction, review. If not for me, then Ryu-chan's sake. Yup yup! None the less, I'm still very grateful for those of you who have reviewed. Well, onto the next chapter! (And I decided to call the chap. "Never Again" like I had planned to)

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Chapter 3/ Never Again

"Bring him to me!"

Tohma, blinking and stunned at Eiri's abrupt interest to see 'Bad Luck's vocalist, asked in a curious tone, "What's wrong Eiri-san?"

Glaring at the older man, Yuki 'hmph-ed' in frustration at the fact that Seguchi wasn't going to bring Shuichi to him any time soon. Taking one last glance at the poster, Yuki stalked out of the office, leaving a very confused Tohma & a 'not-really-caring-what-the-hell-is-happening' man behind.

Eiri searched continuously for his childhood friend all over NG studios. There was no way the novelist would ever give up. He opened hundreds of doors, passed through many brightly lit hallways. Until he heard a gunshot come from a nearby room. At first he decided to ignore it, his first and main priority was to find Shuichi. But then he heard someone yell out the pink haired teen's name and so he made a mad dash for the source of all of the commotion. He reached a door, tall and polished. On the other side he heard angelic singing coming from the most beautiful voice he had ever heard. Staring at it for the longest time, Eiri started to panic. 'Oh god, what am I going to say? What if it's another Shindou? But it can't be. Those eyes, they remind me so much of Shuichi.' His heart started to pound hard against his ribs. He was starting to debate whether it was a good idea or not to see him now. 'Maybe I can surprise him. But what to do.' Yuki took a step back from the door. 'I'll see him later… God I want to see him now though!… But I guess I can make our meeting more unforgettable. He was and still is my best friend after all.' Making up his mind, Yuki turned around and slowly walked away from the door. Only once did he look back.

XxxXxxX

"Oh god Hiro, I didn't know being in a band meant risking your life to do so." Shuichi groaned while walking next to his best friend side by side, making there way out of the NG building.

Hiro chuckled and commented, "That's only cuz we have K. He's not that bad…" He saw Shuichi give him a look that said, are you out of your mind? Hiro cleared his throat and looked away. "Once you get passed all of his ammunition…"

Shuichi shuddered as he remembered all the different types of guns that had been shot at him in the last few hours. "That's only because he never tried to attack you! I swear, I think the crazy American has something against cute, little, pink haired singers." He pouted, arms folded across his chest while his head hung low.

Hiro sighed and looked up into the sky. "Whatever… So are you going to sleep over at my place again? Or did Mr. Seguchi finally find a place for you to room in?"

Now it was Shuichi's turn to sigh. As they crossed the street he answered, "I'm real sorry Hiro. Once I get the money I can get my own apartment… But for now, I need somewhere I can stay, and Tohma-san has informed me that his friend still didn't comply to the favor." His purple eyes started to water. "I'm so useless. Ever since I was born. All I ever did was bring Eiri down. I mean, my very existence is what caused my parents to hate them selves… No wonder they abandoned me…"

Not knowing what to say, Hiro hooked his arm around Shuichi's shoulders and said the only thing he could possibly say. "It's not your fault Shu. Don't worry about. I'll stay with you forever. No matter what." Then the longhaired man grinned and added, "So don't beat yourself up! I'm glad you didn't find a place to stay yet! Now you can stay with me a little while longer, just like we have for the past ten years." Shuichi nodded and smiled. And before they knew it, they were in front of Hiro's apartment and on their way towards his room's door.

XxxXxxX

Eiri Yuki sat alone in his dark and cold not so complex living room, staring at the ceiling, scowling at himself for missing an opportunity to see his long-lost friend.

"Please forgive me Shuichi, I just wanted to wait until tomorrow. April 16th… Your eighteenth birthday…" And as that thought came heavily into Yuki's heart, he fell asleep.

XxxXxxX

16th of April, Shuichi's birthday. But of all the people who should know this, guess who forgot? The birthday boy himself. It was silent in the room. The pink haired vocalist was looking around the quiet apartment, unaware of where its owner was. "Hiro?" Shuichi squeaked out as he entered the dark kitchen. Flicking on the lights he saw that the place was empty, so he sighed and sat lazily onto a stool. When he sighed again, a piece of paper caught his eye. "What's this?" He thought to himself aloud as he read the contents of the sheet.

Morning Shuichi!

As you can see, I'm not here right now…If you do see me, don't forget to take your medication. It's on the counter behind all of the sheet music. I also wrote a note next to it instructing on how you open the thing. Anyway, help yourself to some cereal or anything that's already cooked. I don't want you to hurt yourself again. Especially when I'm not there… And feel free to take a shower. So uh yeah. I'm just heading for NG studios. Mr. Seguchi wanted to talk to me about something.

I'll talk to you later then!

-Hiro

(P.S.)We don't have work today. Apparently, one of K's bullets from yesterday hit a gas leak in the recording room. We won't be going there for a while. So don't worry. Just relax!

Shuichi discarded the note back onto the counter and mentally yelled at Hiro for acting as if he were his mother. Shuichi got up from the kitchen and entered the small quaint little living room and crashed onto the couch. "Hmmm… Something feels weird today… As if I were forgetting something…" He just shrugged it off. "Oh well, nothing important I bet."

XxxXxxX

In Tohma's office, Bad Luck's guitarist sat uncomfortably in front of his boss, waiting for him to break the silence and tell him what's up. And that's exactly what he did.

"So Nakano-san, I heard that today is Shindou-san's birthday." Tohma explained. "Is that correct?"

Hiro looked up from the ground and directed his gaze into Tohma's eyes. "Yes… But how did you-"

Before letting him finish the question, Seguchi laughed. "I know everything that's around me."

"Oh."

Tohma cleared his throat and moved on. "Well Nakano-san, I called you here today so you can help me out in a huge event that is going to occur today."

Hiro sat up straighter and tried his best to pay attention. "Okay, I'm listening."

"Well you see," Tohma began, "Someone whom I believe is very special to Shindou-san, planned a party for him tonight. And I need you to…"

XxxXxxX

"Hiro, what are you doing? I can get dressed myself you know." Shuichi informed, while batting his best friends hand away from his shirt buttons.

"Yeah, but you take too long."

After shooing his friend out of the room, Shuichi started to undress. On the other side, Hiro leaned his back against the door, arms crossed and waiting impatiently for his vocalist to finish.

"So Hiro… Why do I have to change all of a sudden? What's wrong with the clothes I have on now?" Shuichi asked while pulling his pants up.

Hiro thought about this for a moment and answered, "We have a gig at some fancy hotel."

Shuichi sighed and slipped his arms through his leather coat sleeves. "Why do we have the most boring places?" He asked himself.

Once they were all ready, the Bad Luck stars left for the hotel.

XxxXxxX

The lobby was crowded. The whole building was full. Everyone chanted Bad Luck's name. Shuichi was getting pumped; he couldn't believe that playing at some fancy-shmancy hotel was going to be so exciting. The members walked up on stage after getting the okay sign from their manager.

"Hey there people! We're Bad Luck!" Shuichi screamed into the microphone, enjoying every minute of it. "Are you ready to ROCK!" The crowd cheered and swooned over the two new rock stars, waiting in anticipation for them to start playing. "Well I'm pretty sure you didn't come here to listen to me talk, so let's get started. Shall we?"

The whole place was filled with screaming and everyone went reckless as soon as the music started to kick in. Shuichi sang the first half of the song in confidence. So far he was doing great, nothing can stop this perfect moment. Until his eyes shifted to the back of the lobby. Shuichi stopped singing, his arms glued to his sides, unable to take his eyes off of a certain golden haired novelist. He soon snapped out of it and began to sing again. 'That can't be him. What's wrong with me!'

Hiro, who was continuing to play his guitar, looked out into the crowd to find the source of Shuichi's abrupt stop from earlier. He then locked eyes with golden ones. 'What the hell is he doing out here! He's supposed to stay hidden in the other room!' Hiro closed his eyes and smiled. 'Ah fuck it.'

Yuki was in the back, being drifted into a trance by Shuichi's mesmerizing voice. 'He's never changed. The little brat.'

After the first song was over, the novelist walked away. Completely swallowed into the darkness, where he awaits for Shuichi.

'Where'd he go?' Shuichi asked himself while scanning the pool of people. 'I guess it was just my imagination after all.'

Three songs later, Bad Luck got off stage and headed for the bar down the hallway. Hiro followed close behind Shuichi, waiting for him to open the door. When they walked in, there was a huge "Ka-Boom!" and confetti scattered everywhere. The pink haired teenager grew wide-eyed. "What the?"

"Happy Birthday Shuichi!" The whole room cried out while striding towards Shuichi. (A/N: Not the room, the people in it…)

The now eighteen year old whispered out, "It's my birthday?" Then he smiled from ear to ear. "It is! I can't believe I forgot my own birthday!"

XxxXxxX

Everyone was laughing and dinking over at the huge booth/table in the corner of the bar.

Waiting in another room, Yuki was seated on a couch. He was waiting for the right moment to put his plan into action. And he decided now was right time. He picked up the phone that was secluded by darkness, and dialed some numbers.

XxxXxxX

"Is there a Mr. Shindou here!" Asked a young man from the bar counter, holding a telephone receiver next to his ear.

Shuichi looked up from the call of his name, exclaiming that he was Mr. Shindou and walked up to the man.

The bartender handed him the phone. "It's for you."

Shuichi nodded and brang the phone up to his ear. "H-hello?"

There was silence on the other line for a while, so he thought that the other person on the line must have hung up, but then he heard a low voice. "Step out into the hall way."

"What! Who are you? Why do I-" Shuichi couldn't ask any more questions because he heard the annoying beeping sound of the phone being hung up. He was about to walk back over to the table, where everyone was, but curiosity got the better of him, so he stepped out of the room and into the hallway as he was instructed. He was beginning to feel really dumb, until he saw an arrow on the carpeted floor. Shuichi looked up to where the arrow was pointing and followed it directions. When he finally went through many hallways and elevators, he made it to a door. On it there was a sign. It said:

Shuichi, I've been looking everywhere for you… It's been far too long…

Shuichi opened the door slowly, and crept inside the dark room. When he closed the door behind him, there was no light at all anymore. Not being able to see anything, Shuichi fumbled for the light switch and flipped it on. Looking around the room, he found the same man he had seen earlier, sitting on the couch with his back facing to him.

"It's you…" The singer whispered, taking a step forward.

The blonde arose from his seat and turned around, so there eyes met. Shuichi 's eyes began to water and he choked out, "Eiri?"

The older man nodded and started to walk towards the younger. "Yeah Shuichi, it's me…"

Shuichi ran to Yuki, their arms spread out, he jumped on him and they both wrapped each other in a tight embrace.

"Oh Eiri… I've missed you so much…"

"I've finally found you Shuichi. And never again will I ever lose you…" Eiri buried his face into his childhood friend's hair.

"Never again…"

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A/N: Aww… They are together at last… I'm real sorry if they didn't get to do anything else yet… I just wanted this chapter to end that way since it's called, "Never Again". Sorry… And I'm sorry for making the chapter so boring. I have another bad case of writers block. And my little brother's screaming isn't helping. Well Anyways, yup yup! I'd love to here what you guys thought of this chapter! Uh-huh, so… Please review! And thanks to those of you who did! Ryu-chan & Kuma-chan appreciate it! The vending machine is slowly filling up! (If you don't know what I'm talking about, read ending Author Note in chap. 2) Thank you! See you next time!

Momentine!

Ritz