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 Two: The Wake

A week after the death of Shuichi and Maiko's parents, the wake was held. Shuichi had anxiously been planning it (with much help from Maiko), as he was the eldest-and only- son. The funeral itself was scheduled for the next afternoon.

Shuichi and Maiko sat next to their parent's caskets dressed in black. Shuichi wore a black suit, tie, and white shirt and Maiko wore a short black dress that gave her a free range of motion with her broken limbs and crutches. "I just want these two days to end." Maiko whispered as she fiddled with her juzu.1

"I know. I want it to end too…" Shuichi replied softly. He was fiddling with a bracelet on his wrist.

"Quiet. Here come the guests. The priest will be here shortly." Their Aunt Kimiko chided.

The guests filed up to where Shuichi and Maiko stood. All handed one of them condolence money in a traditional black and silver decorated envelope. 2 Most were the Shindou's many close friends all come with their regards. "Your parents were wonderful people." One said.

"It's a shame that they couldn't live longer." Replied another.

"Their death was the will of Buddha."

"We'll miss them greatly."

"You two can come over any time if you need something."

The comments and regards were endless. Then they had to deal with their relatives on both sides of the family. "Maiko-chan can come stay with us." Offered an aunt.

"No, she'll stay with us!" argued another.

"Us!"

"No us!"

"Quiet!" Maiko finally interrupted, "I'm not staying with anybody but Hotaru-san until school starts up next week. Then I'm going to stay at school during the holidays or visit Shuichi!" she declared.

The aunts walked off in a huff leaving two annoyed Shindous behind to greet another swarm of relatives.

Finally all the people had come and where seated. It was a relief because Shuichi and Maiko were beginning to loose their temper. "Never again… Never!" Shuichi declared softly to his sister.

"When you die I refuse to invite this many people!" Maiko proclaimed.

"You'll get hoards of Bad Luck fan girls. I don't think you'll get your wish Maiko-chan." Shuichi teased. 3

"Curse you famous people!" Maiko muttered.

When the priest showed up, he talked to Shuichi and Maiko for a good half an hour. "I am greatly grieved by your loss." The priest said solemnly, "Their souls will be reborn and they shall live together forever."

"Thank you very much." Shuichi replied with a forced smile.

"We appreciate your kind and thoughtful words." Maiko added, a forced smile also on her face.

The priest continued to talk to them about things they didn't care about at the moment such as fees, his parent's souls, etc.

The wake began. The priest began to chant a sutra. Shuichi helped Maiko up to where the caskets were. They both lit incense and stuck it in the urns in front of the caskets, lost in their thoughts.

'Why did they have to die?' Maiko thought. 'Why didn't I die too? I should have died. The cost of continuing living is more then paid by their deaths! But shouldn't I have to pay for their deaths? Shouldn't I have to pay something? Not them. They have paid all of their lives to take care of Shuichi and me. They deserve to live a long life and grow old together. Why me? Why us?' Tears began to fill her eyes and she struggled to keep them from falling. It was pointless. The tears fell, cascading down her cheeks to land on the urn filled with incense.

Next to her, Shuichi was brooding as well. 'Why did you have to die? I can't take care of Maiko-chan properly. I can't even take care of myself. Yuki has to do that for me. I'm just an idiot that needs caring for. How am I supposed to care for myself and Maiko? It's not possible! She'll be happier living at school with her friends then by herself. Yuki would have a fit if I she came and lived with us. We already had Tatsuha when he was looking for an apartment and that was hell. Maiko-chan is a rabid Yuki fan and that would make things even worse!' he thought.

Noticing that his sister was crying, Shuichi took her hand and squeezed it. "We'll be alright Maiko." He whispered.

"Why did they have to die! Why did they have to leave us?" Maiko cried softly, "I'm just a kid and so are you. We can't take care of ourselves."

"Yes we can. We can prove it to ourselves and everyone else that we're not helpless little kids. So don't cry Maiko-chan. I'm sure we're going to be all right!" 4 Shuichi promised.

"O-ok." Shuichi wiped the tears from her eyes with the hand that wasn't holding Maiko's. "We're gonna be fine. I promise." He swore. "Now let's get this wake over with."

After the priest had left, people continued to pay their respects. Shuichi and Maiko handed of the small presents of thanks from them 5 and thanked them for coming. Hiro walked up to them and handed Maiko a bouquet of pinkish peach roses6 and kissed her hand. "I'm here to make sure Shuichi takes care of you right." The guitarist declared with a sweet smile.

"Shuichi will take good care of me. He promised." Maiko informed enthusiastically.

"Good for you Shuichi." Hiro said. Shuichi nodded in reply. "Oh, by the way. Seguchi-san has given Bad Luck a break until next week. K-san and Suguru wanted me to tell you." Hiro added, "They say they're sorry for your loss and wish they could be here to tell you."

"Thanks Hiro." Shuichi replied with a sad smile.

That night, Shuichi and Maiko had to stay up with their parents. With them was their mom's sister Yuka and their father's brother Takeshi. It was probably the longest night any of them had ever endured before. Around midnight, Maiko fell asleep on Shuichi, who soon joined her. Yuka stayed up talking to her sister and saying that their other sister Miyaka couldn't be there because she had gotten a very bad case of the flu and couldn't even get out of bed.

Takeshi was reminiscing about years past when he and his brother had been little. How he wished those days had never ended. Now his only brother was dead and had left two children behind. One was just barely an adult and the other was close. But they were still children. 'Why did the gods take you away from them? They need you still. Shuichi-kun is a dysfunctional, gay…. Idiot! And Maiko-chan is injured and is in college. She probably is going through the problems that everyone goes through in college and her brother can't help because he couldn't even make it into a University and is a nationwide pop star!' Takeshi's thoughts paused for a second as he looked over at his niece and nephew.

The two were curled up together, fast asleep. Yuka had draped a blanket over them after Shuichi had fallen asleep. Both appeared to be restless and having bad dreams. Not that Takeshi could blame them. Maiko had watched her parents die in front of her and Shuichi always had had a vivid imagination.

'The poor things are going to grow up into horrible people!' Takeshi continued to think, 'Shuichi already is. He has a…boy friend…they've been all over the tabloids. He's a twisted, pervert! How could my own brother let his son get away with that! It's outrageous!'

After venting his feelings, Takeshi fell asleep sitting against the wall. Yuka was still paying her respects. Sleep embraced him and dreams came.

Yuka woke Shuichi up so he could pay his respects. "I'll watch Maiko-san." She whispered when the pink haired vocalist started to object.

"Thank you Aunt Yuka." Shuichi whispered back. He walked over to the open caskets and sat down.

Not being able to think of anything but 'I'll miss you.' Shuichi's mind wandered to Bad Luck. 'I should probably be making up lyrics. We have to finish three singles by the end of the month…' But nothing came to him. Memories of his talk with Eiri kept flashing through his head.

Flashback

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."

End Flashback

'I know he was thinking about someone.' Shuichi mused. 'I wish he would tell me. Maybe if he talked he wouldn't have to take so much Prozac… I wish I could help…' He pondered about who the person Eiri was thinking about. 'It wasn't Seguchi, Kitzawa, or his father. And he had said that Hiro had told him about mom and dad… Maybe he was thinking about Mika-san or Tatsuha-kun! Since I was thinking about my parents Eiri could have started thinking about his family.'

Shuichi completely glossed over the fact that Eiri must have a mom. That was a topic that had never come up between them. The idea of it never even dawned upon Shuichi. So the singer continued to think.

'So it probably was Mika-san or Tatsuha-kun. I'll ask him tomorrow night! I hope he doesn't get mad and kick me out. I don't really want to be kick out when I'm sad. Maybe I'll bring him some of that strawberry cake he likes so much. That would probably make him forget about kicking me out.' Shuichi continued to plot.

His thinking was interrupted by a frightened cry. Shuichi head jerk to look at where Maiko was sleeping. Yuka was trying to wake the dreaming teen but was getting nowhere. In an instant, Shuichi was at his sister's side. "Maiko! Wake up. It's just a dream!" he said as he shook her.

"Maiko-san. Wake up." Yuka urged.

"Maiko! Maiko!" Shuichi shook her harder.

Finally Maiko jerked awake. Tears were streaming down her face and her breathing was erratic. "No!" she cried.

"Maiko. It was all a dream, a nightmare." Shuichi said. He pulled his sister into a hug.

"No… it wasn't a dream. It happened. It happened. They're not coming back. It's not a dream. If it was a dream they would come back." Maiko ranted.

"Who Maiko-chan? Who won't come back?" Shuichi questioned.

"M-mom a-and d-dad."

Shuichi breathed in sharply. "What were you dreaming about?" he finally asked after a long pause.

"The crash. Oh the crash! There was so much blood and mom was screaming." Maiko sobbed, "The guy who hit us was staring right at me… His eyes…his eyes…"

"What Maiko?"

"They just stared. Dead, blank eyes staring at me. I couldn't move. I was pinned to the seat. It hurt so bad. I could feel blood on me but I couldn't wipe it away. It felt like I was paralyzed. I was so scared… I couldn't scream for help or to tell mom that I was alive.

She kept screaming my name. Dad was already gone…" Maiko let out a strangled sob, "She wanted to know if I was ok. But I couldn't even breathe let alone talk. I wanted to tell her so bad. But I couldn't. She probably died thinking I was gone too. It's all my fault! They would still be here if they hadn't picked me up to take me out to breakfast. They'd still be here!"

Shuichi was in shock. He kept trying to absorb what his sister was saying but was unable to comprehend it fully. "Maiko-san. It's not your fault. It was the driver who hit you." Yuka explained softly. "None of it was your fault. The man killed your parents and died because of it. He was drunk and apparently on drugs. It was his fault for getting in a car when he could hurt some one, let alone kill two and injure another. No one blames you for it…" Yuka ran her fingers through Maiko's hair. " No one at all."

"Maiko…Aunt Yuka is right. It was that bastard's fault! He was so stupid, driving when he was high! None of it is your fault. Plus mom and dad are in peace now. They'll be with each other forever and ever. They'd want us to be happy. Not to blame ourselves for their deaths." Shuichi added.

"We should remember them for what they have done for us and for the peace they have achieved. An eternal life." Yuka added, comforting Maiko with her Christian beliefs.

"I know! I know! But I can't forget. The screams…the blood…those eyes. They haunt me every night. They'll be there for all eternity and I'll never be able to forget no matter how much I want to!" Maiko cried.

Her last sentence almost broke Shuichi's heart. "Maiko… We can help you forget, to be able to get through it. I'll get you someone to talk to if you don't want to talk to me. I promised you that we would make it through life and I intend to keep my promise." Shuichi stated, "You won't be haunted by those dreams forever. You won't."

In the corner, Takeshi watched Shuichi encourage his sister. 'Maybe the kid isn't a total idiot.' He thought before going back to sleep.

TBC

(As usual after 3 reviews)

1 juzu: Buddhist prayer beads that are similar to Catholic rosaries.

2 A guest will bring condolence money in a special black and silver decorated envelope. Depending on the relation to the deceased and the wealth of the guest, this may be between $30 and $300 (3000 to 30,000 yen).

3 Shuichi was just joking. Only close friends and relatives are allowed at a wake and funeral.

4 If you read the Cardcaptor Sakura manga you'll probably recognize this line.

5 Each departing guest is given a gift, which is valued at half or one quarter of money received from the guest.

Author's Note: I hope you could tell that Takeshi-san didn't like Shuichi very much. Most Japanese people do not like gay people, just like in America.

Thank you to Ashley-chan your her wonderful cultural questions. They really made me think.

Also thanks to Jenna, Ashcat, DemonicDragon666, Sakuma Sonnet, Yuri Yuki, December Jewel, Anonymous bluesilver, I love athrun, Kishi-kun, Scarlet, Gail, Morvena, Kiwi, Anon y mouse, and Mimi for reviewing as well.

Questions are welcome!

If you want to learn more about Japanese wakes, funerals, etc. Go to the site mentioned in the last chapter or