Author: Saya

Hits: 136

Author: Saya Gravitation (after the manga finishes)

Warnings: bad language, angst, shonen ai, later yaoi (Well it is Gravitation!)

Pairings: Eiri/Shuichi, Ryuichi/Tatsuha, Hiro/Suguru, Maiko/Class President Guy who doesn't have a name

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this, they belong to Murakami Maki-san

Author's Note: Maiko-chan will be younger in this fan fic. (Thanks to ashcat for mentioning her age) English is not my native tongue. If there are errors people tell me and I will fix them. Thanks to my beta Asuka-chan! Please review!

Chapter One: Burdens

Hiro stopped his bike in front of the hospital. "Go find out where Maiko-chan is." Hiro urged, "I'll put your helmet away." Shuichi handed the red head his helmet and ran into the hospital. "Thanks Hiro!" he called right before the doors shut. Hiro stowed the helmets then followed Shuichi inside.

At the front desk, Shuichi was franticly inquiring about his sister's whereabouts. "Shindou Maiko. She was in a car crash just an hour or so ago. I got a call that said to come in!" Shuichi quickly said.

"Are you Shindou Shuichi?" the nurse asked.

"Yes."

"She's in room 732."

"Thank you so much!"

Just as he was about to dash off, Shuichi saw Hiro. "Did you get the number?" the guitarist asked.

"732. Come on!" Shuichi replied. He grabbed his friend's wrist and dragged him to the elevator.

Maiko was unconscious when the two got to her room. Her right leg had a cast on it, as did her right arm. There was a bandage over her forehead and a bruise on her left cheek. "Maiko-chan." Shuichi breathed as he slumped into one of two hard, plastic hospital chairs. Hiro sat down next to him. "Is she going to be ok Hiro?" Shuichi whispered. Tears were streaming down his face as he reached out and took Maiko's hand. "She can't leave me too…"

Hiro wrapped an around his best friend's waist and hugged him. "She'll be alright Shu-chan. She doesn't look like she was hurt all that bad." He comforted.

"She will be fine as soon as she wakes up." Inserted a new voice.

The pair turned to find a female doctor next to them. "I'm Maiko-san's doctor, Fujiwara Kumiko." The doctor explained.

"This is Shindou Shuichi, Maiko-chan's brother. I'm the emotional support. Nakano Hiroshi." Hiro said for a distraught Shuichi.

"I thought so. You two are very popular in Japan right now." Fujiwara replied with a slight smile.

"How bad was she hurt?" Shuichi asked, "Do you know what happened?"

The doctor nodded. "Her leg is broken in two places and her arm is broken as well. She got them from her side being hit by the impact. There's a gash on her forehead. Other then that she just has a couple bruises." Fujiwara explained, "Her leg should heal in about two months and her arm in one. She will be fine when she wakes up."

Shuichi breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you Fujiwara-san." Hiro said with a sad smile.

"Do you want to know how the crash happened?" Fujiwara asked. The singer nodded.

"Your family was driving somewhere this morning when a drunk driver hit the side of their car. Your father probably didn't feel a thing as he was on the side the car hit. The car hit the side of a building. Your mother and your sister were taken to the hospital. Your mother had been hurt by the impact when the car hit the wall. Maiko-san was apparently sitting in the middle seat in the back. She was hit on her right side by the impact of the car into there's and probably got cut by broken glass."

Besides Hiro, Shuichi sobbed quietly, his body shaking. "Maiko-chan." He whispered The limp hand in his twitched. "Don't cry Shuichi-oniisan." Maiko croaked, her throat dry.

"Maiko!" Shuichi exclaimed in shock.

"How are you feeling?" Hiro asked.

"Hurt." Maiko answered. All of a sudden she sat up, "Are mom and dad alright!" she added.

That made Shuichi start crying again and Hiro to find the floor very interesting. Neither of them wanted to break the bad news.

"They didn't make it Shindou-san." Fujiwara finally stated.

The news hit Maiko hard. She slumped against her pillow, tears shining in her eyes. "No." she whispered, "That can't be true. This has to be a dream."

"I wish it was." Fujiwara replied, "Your brother is now your guardian. Call a nurse if you need one. I'll leave you in peace." With that the doctor left.

Maiko began to silently weep. "What's gonna happen to me? Shu-chan can't take care of me. He has work." She asked.

"Hiro said that cousin Hotaru might be able to." Shuichi suggested, "Or maybe Aunt Toru."

"Maybe…" Maiko said with a sniff.

"You'll both be fine Maiko-chan." Hiro said. He leaned over and wiped the tears off her face. "You'll be fine."

"Thanks Hiro-san."

"No problem. I'm here to help."

A nurse came into check on Maiko. The boys got shooed out into the hallway. Shuichi was still depressed and crying so Hiro tried to cheer him up. "While we're waiting Shu, why don't we get something to eat? We haven't eaten lunch yet." He suggested.

"Alright…" Shuichi agreed.

The two of them walked down the hall until they came to a vending machine. Hiro bought Shuichi some pocky and a soda then a coke for himself. When they got back to Maiko's room, the nurse was gone and Maiko was sitting up. Her face was cheerless and she stared at the blanket over her. "Maiko-chan…" Shuichi said, "Did the nurse say you're alright?"

"Yah. They'll let me go…home…tomorrow." Maiko answered in a monotone, "Except home won't be home anymore."

"Don't say that! You'll get to go wherever you want. Summer break is almost over and you'll be back in college. And you can come over to Yuki and my apartment any time…" Shuichi tried not to think about his parent's deaths.

"I know. But…"

"We'll be fine."

"Alright…"

After calling his cousin Hotaru, Shuichi continued to stay with Maiko and Hiro. Fujiwara came in just before visiting hours were over to tell Shuichi that Maiko could leave the next afternoon. The singer was half asleep as Hiro drove him home. The redhead ended up having to carrying him when they got there.

Eiri raised an eyebrow when he opened the door. "Aren't you two supposed to be at work?" he asked suspiciously.

Hiro nodded. "There was an accident." He supplied as he walked in and set his friend down on the couch.

"What happened?" the writer inquired curiously. Shuichi didn't look injured. There were wet trails that his tears had left behind, but nothing unusual.

"His parents and sister got in a car crash." Hiro explained, "Only Maiko-chan made it… Shu's really upset. "

The writer grimaced. "I'll be he is..."

" Don't hurt him Yuki-san. I don't think he can take much more." Hiro cautioned as he walked past the author, showing himself out.

When the door clicked shut, Eiri sat down on the couch and pulled Shuichi's head into his lap. "Gomen… I know what it's like to loose your parents." He murmured. Shuichi curled up, moving close to the warmth Eiri's body radiated. "Eiri…." He mumbled.

'He even thinks of me when he sleeps…' Eiri thought. He grabbed a book and a blanket, which he draped over Shuichi's sleeping form. Opening the book, Eiri began to read.

A couple hours later, Shuichi woke up confused. "How'd I get here?" he wondered aloud. He shifted, noticing that there was a heavy weight on him. Squinting in the darkened room, Shuichi managed to make out Eiri's form resting on him. The author still had his glasses on and a book lay open on his chest. Shuichi smiled. Eiri always looked so peaceful when he slept. The sight made Shuichi forget about the tragedy that had emerged in his life just for a bit…

Once done staring at the blonde, Shuichi curled back up and pondered Maiko's current situation. Hotaru had said she would be able to take care of Maiko for the next two weeks, when the fall term began. At least that was taken care of.

The wake for his parents would happen. He and Maiko would have to get gifts for the people who came. The funeral would probably be the next day. Then they would have to put the bones of his parents into separate urns using chopsticks. Shuichi shivered at the thought of having to indirectly touch his parent's bones. There also would be a memorial service forty-nine days from today.

He wasn't fond of funerals and neither was Maiko. Both had been to their grandparent's funerals, which were very depressing. Neither Shuichi nor Maiko thought they would have to be able to cope with their parent's deaths decades before his parents would have died of old age. No one thought it would happen. It was an unfortunate event in their life.

On top of Shuichi, Eiri woke up. "What the…" he mumbled. Then he remembered what had happened, Hiro coming over with Shuichi and telling him about the boy's parents' deaths. "Shu-chan?" he said softly.

"You're awake?" Shuichi replied from beneath him. "You were asleep when I woke up…"

"Hai… Nakano brought you home. He told me what happened…" Eiri remarked in a sad voice. Memories of his deceased mother flew through his head. Blonde hair and golden eyed, just like him. She was the gaijin daughter of another priest who had arranged for her to marry Eiri's father. However, a year after Tatsuha was born, she died of pneumonia, leaving the Uesugi family to slowly deteriorate.

Eiri was snapped out of his musings by Shuichi's voice. "What are you thinking about? You look sad." The pink haired singer asked.

"Nothing… Just thinking." Eiri replied. Masking his emotions with his icy façade, Eiri smiled slightly at his lover.

"You're lying." Shuichi stated bluntly.

"I'm avoiding the topic. Not lying. I was thinking anyway." Eiri responded quickly.

Shuichi sighed. "That's not the point. You were thinking of something sad. What was it? Kitzawa? Seguchi? Your father?" he guessed.

Eiri flinched at the last guess. "No…" he said softly… No one specifically." With that, the subject was dropped and the silence returned.

TBC

(As usual after 3 reviews. I might make to five though. )

Author's Note #2: If you want to know more about Japanese funerals, wakes, or memorial services, go to http/en. Some of the rites seem pretty crazy. This is just an example of sites you could go to. I know this knowledge first hand so I can't really site my sources (so I don't get sued somehow).

A lot of people were wondering what my native language and country are. I'm from Tomakomai (By Sapparo on Hokkaido), Japan. But I currently live in Seattle, Usa for my job. I've been taking English since Jr. High so that's why I am able to write fan fiction in it.