Sorry, In the prologue I forgot the disclaimer: Gravitation belongs to Murakami Maki, I only wish I owned Ryuichi.

Another AU (Alternate Universe/Timeline). What if Seguchi had been there to save Yuki after the Kitazawa incident? How would the Gravi lives be different? Contains considerable Fake crossover. I find Ryo and Dee convenient when I need New York police.

I apologize for mistaking Drake with JJ. It's been a long time since I read Fake.

Confrontations

Chapter 4

Shu just couldn't handle the tension at the table any longer. It was obvious that everyone was blaming Hiro when it had not really been Hiro's fault. The saddest thing was that Hiro wouldn't even look at him. Every time he would try to catch Hiro's eye to give him a smile to let him know that everything was fine, Hiro would look away deliberately.

Once in the studio, Shu slumped against the wall. Hiro must hate him now. He knew that the band could not go on if he didn't have Hiro by his side. He could stand not having him in his bed, but he needed him by his side. His eyes filled with tears and he allowed himself to slide down the wall. He knew he was going to have a good hard cry.

"Shu?" a hesitant voice spoke. He was surprised that Hiro had bothered to follow him.

"We really need to talk Shu."

He raised his tear filled eyes to meet Hiro's gray ones. "I'm sorry K gave you such a rough time. I didn't mean for that to happen. I was angry and worried. Not only didn't you come home last night, you didn't even bother to call. I didn't know what to tell him."

"K was pretty angry," Hiro laughed, "You and I; we've known each other forever. You have never lied in your life, and I wouldn't have expected you to lie to K. If it is any consolation I was not at Ayaka's place. K actually found me in the park. I spent the night there. Sure, I was drunk on my ass, but I spent the night cold, alone, on a park bench."

"It is still your home too Hiro. There was no reason for you to stay away. You do have your own bedroom no one said that you had to come to my bed. I never threw you out."

"I know that, I know you would never do something like that. I was just still sorting out my own feelings. I did not want to complicate things by seeing you."

"Did I hurt you that badly?"

"No Shu, if anything I hurt myself. Deep down, I always knew how you felt."

"Are we still friends Hiro. I really need you for a friend."

"Always Shu."

"I know that I am being nosy, but I just have to ask. Are you in love with Ayaka? If you are, I have to tell you that I don't really like her. As your friend I need to tell you that I don't think she's the right person for you."

Hiro actually burst out laughing, "You know that is one of the things that I got sorted out last night. And, the answer is NO! I don't think I'll even see her again. I don't need someone who is only there for my fame or my money, no matter how good the sex is."

"Very funny Hiro," Shu felt some of the tension evaporate and his own heart was starting to feel a little better, "So, is there anyone else? Someone you're thinking about." It was obvious from the way Hiro looked away that he did not want to answer this particular question, but Shu still managed to catch the twinkle in his eye. "Oh ho, so there is! Come on Hiro, you have to tell me, even if you only tell me to make me jealous."

"I can't really say there is anything there yet. But, something did happen this morning that made me pay attention."

"K? Hiro, do you mean K!" Shu knew his mouth was hanging open, but he also knew he was right.

"Shh!" Hiro quickly tried to quiet him.

"Hiro, he's like married, to a woman. They even have a kid."

"She's not here now, is she?" Hiro grinned evilly. "What about you Shu? I saw you looking at that Yuki guy. He is gorgeous."

"I don't know Hiro, there's something about his eyes that scares me. Sometimes I see a world of pain and hurt. Other times they're hard and steely, you know like K's when he's mad. But, what really scares me is when they go all cold and empty."

Shu sat back for a moment and thought, and he had to admit that he had not considered the situation before. He certainly was attracted to the man and the eyes were part of it. He had also caught the man looking at him several times. It might just be possible. A dangerous affair might be just what he needed.

Yuki excused himself from the table soon after Hiro left. He used the excuse that he needed to stretch his legs more than he needed food, it was an excuse but it was also true. Plus, he had eaten so many of Sakano's little cakes he was now feeling slightly sick. His real intentions were to follow Hiro. He assumed that Hiro had left to follow Shindou and he really wanted to know what was going on. Walking quickly, he caught up just in time to see Hiro enter the studio. He waited a few moments before entering himself.

As soon as he was inside he could hear the slight murmur of voices coming from the back of the room. Quietly he worked his way back in a position where he could listen without being noticed. Almost as soon as he was in position he realized that he was listening to the ending of a relationship and suddenly felt embarrassed. He should have guessed that this was what was going on from all of the uncomfortable silences between the two. For some strange reason he felt that he was intruding, eventhough this might have some later bearing on his assignment.

One thing stuck in his head, the brat liked men. No wonder he had laughed about all the women swooning for him. He had an idea how he could definitely use this to his advantage, and have fun doing it. His brain nearly stopped when he heard his own name mentioned, but this was the last of the conversation he heard as his ears were filled with the sound of a gun cocking.

The cold metal was pressed against his temple. There was warm breath tickling his ear and a voice whispered "I really hope you are not planning on publishing that Mr. Yuki. Not only will NG not approve it, but I will kill you if it gets out." Yuki shifted his head enough to see K standing behind him holding the gun.

Yuki's initial impression of K had been man who liked waving a gun around, but it was just for show. I never thought that the man capable of using one seriously. But, damn the guy was good; he had not even heard him approach. He felt the gun removed from his head and watched for K to lower it.The Americandid allow the gun to drop some, but Yuki didn't heara telltale click to announce the gun had been uncocked. This meant that K was willing to listen to what he had to say but was reserving judgment until the explanation was given. Yuki decided that he would live with that.

"I don't suppose you're going to believe that I just happened to stumble onto the conversation and then was too embarrassed to show myself."

"Nope, try again," K's voice was barely audible.

"The stumbling across the conversation part is true. However, when I heard what was being said, of course I thought of using it in the article. This would be sensational news. Of course I had to listen, I couldn't help myself. After a while, I did get embarrassed and was afraid to move in case they did hear me."

The gun was once again placed to his head. "And the article Mr. Yuki, I trust that none of this will even be hinted at."

"You have my word K. I do not lie."

The gun was lowered again and this time he did hear the click. Irritated with the entire scenario Yuki spun on his heel, slashing his right hand down at the same time. K's gun was now in his hands. "You should be more careful K. Guns are not toys." He spun the gun a couple of times around the end of his finger before handing it back with a grin.

"You know, I have seen you before Yuki, back in New York." This was a warning and Yuki could read it clearly. "You may have faster hands," K continued, "but then you caught me off guard, it will not happen again. I admit that I have not figured out your game yet, but I will. You had better not be planning anything that would harm any of my band members. I do have powerful friends too Mr. Yuki." Before he could react, K disappeared into the shadows again.

Yuki decided that he did not have time to think about K's comments now. Glancing at his watch he noted that it was time for the band to start rehearsing for this evening's mini concert. It was a good thing he really didn't have much to do now, he was extremely distracted not only by K's comments, but by what he had heard from the brat earlier.

During a break in the rehearsal, the brat came over to ask him what he thought of the new song they were practicing. The kid was so sweet and honest that he found himself dropping the Brat moniker all together, everyone else called the kid Shu and when he asked permission to use the name, the smile he got in return nearly drove him to his knees. He had never metan adult aged person before who was so completely ingenuous. There was no guile here at all. Every emotion the boy felt was reflected in those luminous eyes.

His breath stopped. This was a truly innocent person. A person who was not only innocent but was also willing to take the world's hurts onto his own shoulders. This time when Shu reached out for a hug his own arms wrapped around the boy returning the hug fiercely.

By the time Shu returned to the stage to practice he was a very troubled man. He had already started to regret taking this assignment when that sneaky manager had caught him. And, Shindou, it could all be just an act. It was easy to think this when he was not looking into those eyes, but deep in his heart he knew better. He would give it just a little more time before making his decision, if Shindou was for real, there was no way he was going to go through with the hit.

"Mr. Yuki?" Sakano's irritating voice interrupted his thoughts, "Mr.Yuki, NG Records is hosting an open house afternoon," like he didn't already know this, "Bad Luck is scheduled to perform. I would like for you to attend their performance so that you can familiarize yourself with their stage presence." He agreed cordially finding he really did want to see the show.

He left the studio after Sakano and joined the group going down the stairs. There was a stage set up in the middle of the main lobby and Yuki found a position to lean against a back wall. Sakano took a spot next to him, arms dangling at his sides. He explained that Bad Luck would have the first performance so they would be allowed to leave early. They needed to get some rest before catching their flight tomorrow afternoon.

The entire performance was timed perfectly, they opened the doors to let the waiting crowd in and Bad Luck took the stage. Yuki immediately noticed that Shu had lost his little boy look. This new, sexy look once again caused Yuki to revise his opinion. Maybe the innocence was all just an act; the kid on the stage right now was far from innocent looking.He had donned the tightest suede pants he had ever seen. They accentuated his slim legs and waist and defined his perfectly rounded ass. His shirt was sleeveless pink mesh belly shirt. The outfit left very little to the imagination.

Yuki himself liked to wear leather but he could not even begin to imagine how the kid managed to move in those pants, but move he did. Bad Luck's first song choice was now considered an oldie according to Sakano, it had been on their first CD and the remix was still extremely popular at dance clubs across Japan. The second number was a slower ballad. It was something new they had been working on and wanted to test the waters tonight before deciding to add it to their next CD. Yuki couldn't help but notice that eventhough this song did not feature much movement on Shu's part all eyes in the crowd were still drawn to him.

It was the third song that really grabbed his attention. It started with a blatantly sexual beat and Shu was making the most of it. With a gasp, Yuki realized that he recognized the dance as the same one Shu had working on earlier that morning. The practice that morning was nothing compared to what was going on up on that stage right now. He had no doubt that everyone in the audience would be leaving a little more excited than when they came in. Including him.

Yuki peeled his eyes from those delicious jiggling hips up to Shu's face, trying to judge the look on the kid's face. It was a mistake, as soon as he looked up violet eyes met his gold and he felt the shock all over again. With a sudden movement Shindou hopped off of the stage and was making his way through the audience, he paused to dance with several people pressing his wiggling body against a few of the people. Several girls got the special dance and one man, a russet-haired American looking man who appeared extremely embarrassed by the interaction. Shortly afterwards Shu started approaching him and their gazes locked again.

He realized that he was panting in anticipation of what he knew was coming. It seemed to take forever for the kid to get there but when he finally arrived Yuki could see that Shu was as turned on as he was, those luminous violet eyes were now hooded and clouded with passion. He shivered when he felt Shu's leg wrap around his and an extremely hard pelvis was ground into his hip. He wanted this, god he wanted this, he didn't care how many people were watching. Yuki turned his frame to face Shu, letting the kid feel exactly what he was doing to him. Shu once again raised his shrouded eyes to meet his as the last of the song drew out. Yuki slowly lowered his head and Shu's lips lightly brushed his.

Suddenly all of the lights came on and Shu was gone. Sakano was quickly ushering Shu out a side door with K close in his heels. The rush of the crowd towards that door was frightening in its speed. Yuki pressed against the wall, not only to stay out of the way but also to try to get his own body under control. His heart was nearly pounding out of his chest and he realized that he was panting.

It was nothing short of a melee right now. He would only imagine what would happen to Shu if that screaming crowd managed to get through that door. If that happened, he wouldn't have to worry about being able to do his job the crowd would take care of Shindou for him. Shu would be torn to pieces.

Yuki was finally managing to get his senses back together when Sakano reappeared and asked that he stay for a little while longer to see the next performers. He explained that the band, ASK, where the chief rivals at NG for Bad Luck. He thought that it might be good background information. He agreed to stay, mainly because he was curious about ASK. He had done some of his own research on the plane and had discovered that the nephew of his employer was a member of this band. It was this nephew that he asked for the hit. Once the band took the stage he could see the resemblance.

Eventhough he was no sort of music critic, he could immediately tell the differences between ASK and Bad Luck. ASK was technically better but they did not generate the same excitement as Bad Luck. The main difference was the stage presence and charisma of Shindou Shuichi. It was no wonder that Aizawa Tachi wanted Shuichi dead. ASK would never be anything but second best to Bad Luck.

Yuki would be called in a few hours to give a report, and he really planned on giving a full report. He planned to include the fact this hit was matter of pure jealousy. He had been led to believe that Shindou had been doing anything to get to the top, everything from sleeping with the boss to deliberately taking studio time from ASK. Yuki had seen that ASK and Bad Luck each had their own studios so, there were not any time conflicts. And, he knew that Shindou was not sleeping with any of his bosses

ASK was just starting their second song when Yuki felt a body lean against his. He glanced over to see that Shu had come back. He was completely back to the way Yuki had first see him this morning, complete with disguise of hat and sunglasses. As Yuki stared down, Shu pulled the glasses down and all he could do was to stare into those beautiful eyes again.

"Did you like the performance Yuki-san?"

"Yes, Shu, I really liked the performance." Yuki thought his voice sounded steady, "And just call me Yuki." Shu's face spread into a beatific grin and he snuggled in closer. Yuki's arm seemed to have a mind of its own and he found himself holding the kid next to him. At the same time he began to realize that he was in deep shit. He knew that there was no way he was going to be able to complete this hit. And, even worse he had started to develop feelings for the kid. What he wanted most right now was to return to New York and just lose himself for a while. He could not even conceive putting a bullet through Shu's head. Just the thought caused him to tighten his hold. He felt one of Shu's arms wrap around his own waist and Yuki decided that he liked what he feeling, he liked it a lot.

Ryo and Dee had gone to join the line waiting in front of NG only a few minutes before the doors were due to open. The mini concert started almost immediately and they found themselves in a press of screaming fan girls and boys. I was hard to even get their bearings, let alone locate just one person. Working their way through the crowd, they were both scanning the crowd for the same blonde head. It seemed that their luck was in. Just before the show was about to start their man sauntered in and casually leaned against the back wall. He was soon joined by a second man, the two seemed comfortable together. Almost immediately the lights dimmed and a band took the stage. Ryo was able to identify the name Bad Luck being chanted along with the name Shindou and Nakano.

Eventhough Dee was unable to understand any of the words all-in-all the music was pretty good. The lead singer, Shindou Shuichi, was electrifying to watch. Dee had started to have a good time, that is, until the hussy Shindou hopped off of the stage and had started grinding into Ryo. Dee found he was mad enough to spit. He came very close to tearing the guy away and pounding his face into the ground. It was a good thing Shindou didn't stick around too long, or he would have been dead meat. Ryo had still had to hold him back and reminded him that it was only a part of the show. Shindou was not meaning anything personal he was just giving the crowd a thrill.

Dee was still staring daggers at the singer's back watching his progress…right toward their man. What Shindou did to him made what he had done to Ryo look like chump change. It certainly got the blood boiling and Dee found himself wanting to drag Ryo to some dark corner and…. He settled for a kiss and an arm around his waist.

Bad Luck's performance ended with a huge rush of the crowd right on Shindou's heels. Once order was restored a second band took the stage. Their attention was now divided between the band and Yuki. This second band wasn't nearly as interesting as the first. Not long after the second song started Dee noted the appearance of a young boy at Yuki's side. It was Ryo who made the identification of the boy as the singer Shindou Shuichi.

Once Ryo mentioned it, he could see that it was the singer. Shindou and Yuki seemed to quite chummy considering that the kid was wrapped tightly in Yuki's arms.

Shindou and Yuki were so much into each other that they could now pretty much just watch them to their hearts content otherwise they might have missed it when they slipped out a side exit. Following discretely, they made their way to the small rental car Ryo had managed to acquire and waited until an NG limo left the parking garage. They trailed the limo for several blocks until the limo pulled over outside what looked like a fashionable apartment building. They continued driving past and Ryo watched over his shoulder as Yuki and Shindou started into the building. This was not the most ideal situation, they had hoped that Yuki would take a hotel room and they planned on getting rooms in the same hotel.

"Damn Ryo, looks like he's going home with that singer." Dee swung the car around and found a space in a parking lot across from the building.

"Looks like we're going to have a long wait," Dee could tell from Ryo's voice he wasn't looking forward to spending a night in a parking lot.

"Yeah," Dee agreed, "Why don't you get us something to eat, anything but raw fish will do."

Tachi had been keeping his eye out for his uncle's employee. He had been given a description of a tall blonde-haired man, good looking but with cold eyes. He had seen him first this afternoon in the commissary having lunch with the members of Bad Luck. He was able to get a pretty good look at the guy and thought 'good looking' was an understatement. The guy also didn't look like what he would expect from a hit man. He had expected dark and scowling, this man was friendly and smiling.

The man did not turn up again until the open house concert started. During Bad Luck's performance he was able to study the guy a little more closely. He man appeared confident and cool. However, after studying him for a while Tachi started to get chills from looking at his eyes. There was definitely something weird about the man's eyes, as his uncle had said, the eyes were extremely cold, icy.

It was during Bad Luck's final number that he got his greatest shock. Shindou used sex to try to sell himself but this display amazed even him. Shindou was seducing the guy right in front of everyone, and the fool was responding.

"What are you staring at Aizawa?" Ken interrupted when he caught the direction on Tachi's gaze, "I thought you were over all that?"

"Just when I thought he couldn't sink any lower, he manages to surprise me." He wasn't really talking to Ken either.

"Come on guys!" Ma shouted and Tachi realized that the lights had come on, "We need to get up there; we're next."

ASK took the stage but Tachi still couldn't keep his eyes off of the man at the back of the room. He was a bit put off by the man's bored attitude; he had at least showed some interest in Bad Luck. Tachi tried to tell himself that it was only professional interest, and had almost managed to convince himself. But, Shindou showed up again cuddling up to the man and the next time he was able to look they were wrapped in a close embrace. Another turn around the stage and they were gone. Damn bastard didn't even stayfor rest of ASKs performance.

Unreasonable anger made finishing their set nearly impossible. His entire world turned red. For the first time in his life he actually wanted to get off of the stage. His only desire was to make another call to his uncle. When the set finally ended he was off the stage and out the door before the lights came on. He doubted that his bandmates even knew he was gone.

Tachi found himself running blindly and he ducked into the first empty studio he could find. He could care less whose space he was invading. He pulled out his cell phone and quickly dialed the States.

"Uncle, its Tachi."

"How are things going Tachi-kun?"

"Listen uncle, about that guy you sent…"

"I have had a report that he is there and is doing well in infiltrating."

"Yeah, he's here, but uncle are you sure he is dependable? I mean it looks like he planning to bed Shindou, not kill him."

"It was you that asked for the hurt and betrayal."

"I know that I did uncle, I want him crying bitter tears before he dies."

"Then let him do his job Tachi."

"Just tell him not to make it sex uncle, lead him on, whatever, but no sex. You do not know how much I already appreciate what you are doing."

Tachi did not hear Ma when he came into the studio. Ma couldn't help but to follow, he had never seen Tachi looking so upset and he didn't have a clue what was wrong. Ma froze when he heard Tachi on the phone and couldn't believe what he was hearing. It sounded like Tachi had actually hired someone to kill Shindou.

Ma couldn't confront Tachi, not right now. He would have to wait until Tachi cooled down some. This was just wrong. No matter what Shindou had done, he did not deserve death. Ma quietly left the studio unsure of what to do. He couldn't let this go on and he sure as hell couldn't tell Shindou. Ma knew there was only one person he could tell and eventhough that manager of Bad Luck's, K, sometimes seemed like a psycho,he thought he knew what he was doing. At times he felt that K could be a very dangerous man, maybe he would be able to help without hurting Tachi.

I would like to thank all of my reviewers: SuperDrive, girlo, AthenBlade, Bloody Dead Rose, and Tochiro-Oyama. Tochiro-Oyama thanks for pointing out my mistake.

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