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.

Snow Storm

Chapter 8

The plane carrying the NG personnel landed smoothly at Ronald Reagan. The plane was only delayed thirty minutes due to the weather. They were lucky the plane was allowed to land at all. Residents of New York were battening down and preparing for one of worst Nor'easters that had been predicted in the past fifty years. Blizzard conditions were expected over the next twenty-four hours. Up to three feet of snow was expected to fall. By the time the plane had landed there was already six inches of snow on the ground.

As it turned out, their plane was the last one allowed to land that evening. All other flights were being rerouted to either Atlanta or Chicago. By the time everyone was packed into the rented limos, winds were howling at forty-five miles per hour. Driving was very difficult, but once they were actually in the city, things became a little easier. The buildings did block some of the wind and snow. They still gained at least two more inchesaccumulation by the time they arrived at the hotel.

NG had rented the two top floors of the hotel for twenty nights. Their stays in New York and Los Angeles would be longest. The biggest markets were considered to be on the east and west coasts.

Yuki ended up having to bring in the luggage for both him and Shu. The kid could barely even stand up in the wind, not to mention he had only worn shorts and a sweatshirt. He had tried to getthe kidto go up to the room and get into a hot bath. He thought he had succeeded but when he turned back with last of their luggage, he could see Shu through the glass hopping up and down in a vain attempt to get the circulation going again in his frozen legs.

"Baka," Yuki smiled to himself as he struggled to put the last of their luggage onto the cart. All of the valets were currently busy assisting with getting everyone else's luggage in and hauling it up to the guest rooms. Yuki didn't want to wait. After the luggage was in, he went and got their room key and pulled the luggage cart into the elevator himself.

"Come on Shu," he had to yell back at the still bouncing boy, "Let's get moving, I need to get you warm."

"I like the snow Yuki. Yuki means snow, you know?" Even in the midst of this crisis the kid's enthusiasm had not diminished.

"I know Shu." In response he couldn't keep the frown plastered to his own face.

"Do you remember when we first met? I asked you if you were Japanese. You never answered, are you?" The singer was now hopping over to the cart.

"Yes, I was born in Japan. And, eventhough I may not look it, I am fully Japanese."

"Is Yuki your real name?"

"Why so many questions all of a sudden, Shu?"

"I just want to know."

Yuki was saved from answering by the elevator doors opening. Then they were too busy getting luggage into their room and unpacking. Shu wanted to help but Yuki immediately sent him in to get a hot bath. The kid, for once, obeyed without a complaint.

As soon as Yuki heard the water running, he started going through Shu's clothes, looking for something warmer. All the kid had brought were shorts, shorts, and more shorts. There wasn't even a coat or a jacket. He stuffed them in a drawer in disgust. These clothes were going to be no help when they had to run. Shu had tried to maintain an upbeat attitude, but Yuki knew that eventually they were going to have to disappear.

Yuki knocked on the door before entering the bathroom. Shu was sitting in the tub happily singing one of Bad Luck's songs at the top of his lungs.He didn't notice him come in.

"Shu! SHU-CHAN!" He had to yell to be heard.

"Hey, Yuki, come and get in, the water feels good. I only have a shower at home, I don't have a tub. Maybe I'll move so that I can have a tub." Yuki could only smile, not even the threat of imminent death could deter him. Everyone should be so happy.

"I can't right now." He held up a pair of Shu's shorts, "Are these all the clothes you brought?"

"Do you think I should have packed more?"

"Well, not more, but all you brought were shorts. Didn't you bring anything warmer?"

"That's all I ever wear, even in winter."

"I'm going to have to call K to see if he can arrange any warmer clothes. You're going to need them." Yuki started to close the door but Shu stopped him with a question.

"You avoided my question earlier and I really want to know, is Yuki your real name? I want to call you by your real name."

"I understand. No, Yuki is not my real name. You're not going to like this, but Yuki is the name of the first person I killed. But, you have to keep calling me that."

"TELL ME YOUR REAL NAME!" Shu yelled, looking very angry.

Yuki sighed, "Uesugi Eiri."

"But, that…that was the name…" Yuki silenced him with a hand over his mouth.

"Yes it is, and yes Mika is my sister. But, she can't know, she must never know…about me."

"Yuki will you tell me what happened to you, why you became…you know?"

"Yes, I will tell you tonight after supper. We'll order room service." Yuki didn't think Shu would like what he was going to hear. "We'll order something when you get out. Right now I have a couple of other calls to make, you get finished up in here."

Yuki went back into the room for a second and grabbed a pair of his sweats, "Oh and here's a pair of my pants, wear them for now."

"Okay Yuki."

As Yuki pulled the door closed, he could hear Shu start to sing happily again.

Yuki took a seat on the edge of the bed. It was now or never. He took out his cell phone and dialed his boss' number.

"Mr. Thomas here."

"Good to hear from you Thomas" a shadowy voice came on the other end of the line, "I was afraid that you would be unable to get in. I heard they closed all of the airports."

"Ours was the last flight they allowed to land."

"Very good Mr. Thomas. There has been a complication here. You are needed for another job. We need to move up the hit. You have forty-eight hours Mr. Thomas."

"The weather is going to complicate matters. I do not currently have the necessary equipment."

"I am already giving you extra time to allow for the weather, I want this done right away. I could care less what method you use, strangle him if you have to, you won't need anything for that. Just get it done! You will meet Mr. Smith in your usual spot in seven days. Am I understood?"

Yuki clicked end and laid the phone on the bed. He turned to see Shu staring at him wide-eyed. He quickly rushed to pull the boy into his arms.

"I'm sorry you weren't supposed to hear that. I'm getting sloppy."

Shu was frightened and trembling, "This is all real isn't it? I guess I really didn't believe it until now. Yuki I'm scared."

Hepicked Shu up and carried him to the bed before he could collapse, "I'm scared too but I am going to do everything in my power to protect you."

Shu nodded, "I'll be all right, just hold me a little longer."

Tachi had not left Ma's side since the interview with the doctor. The nurses had told him that Ma's vitals were continuing to improve but, he couldn't see any difference. Tachi had shoved his own little bed over so that he could be as close as possible. What he really wanted was to climb into the bed with Ma. He thought that minute he tried he would probably end up out on his butt. So he settled for holdingthe coldhand.He had talked until his voice was hoarse and his throat raw.

After endless hours of talking, he finally decided he was too exhausted to do any more good. Lying down in his own bed he took Ma's hand again, "Goodnight angel, I love you," he whispered before closing his eyes. He was just drifting off to sleep when he felt Ma's hand twitch.

After that everything seemed to happen very fast. The twitch became a flutter and all of the alarms on all of the machines in the room seemed to start going off at once. Doctors and nurses started rushing in again, swarming the room. Tachi's bed was roughly shoved out of the way. He could only watch in terror. He could hear one of the physicians yelling for Tegretol and Dilantin. A nurse quickly injected something into Ma's IV. The entire thing ended almost as soon as it had started, but it seemed like hours.

Everyone seemed to have forgotten he was even there and began leaving the room without a word. After several tries, he was finally able to get one doctor's attention.

"Please, is he dying? What happened? I felt his hand twitch and then…" This statement finally seemed to get the doctor's full attention.

"Aizawa wasn't it?"

Tachi bowed his head.

"Your friend had a seizure, not that uncommon with a head injury. We have put him on medication that should prevent this from happening again. Actually in his case this is a good sign. His brain activity is increasing even in the coma. But, what interests me is that you said his hand moved. We did not believe this would be possible, we had thought him to be paralyzed from the neck down. If his hand moved then the paralysis does not go up as far as we originally thought."

"Does that mean he might get back to normal?"

"I'm afraid not. He still will have paralysis. It simply means that he might be able to breathe on his own. If he is able to move his hands and arms, he might be able to achieve some independence in the future. Remember Aizawa-san what I said about his internal injuries. His condition is still extremely grave."

"Thank you doctor," Tachi croaked out.

"You have been doing a really good job with him you know. Wait here, I'm going to get you something to help you."

After the doctor left Tachi pushed his bed back over next to Ma's. He took a seat cross-legged to stare at the still form. He felt like he could stay awake for several more hours now. The doctor was back in a few minutes with a throat spray. The medicine helped and in the end, he was awake all night.

Khad just gotten settled in his room when his cell phone began ringing.

"K here."

"K, can you come to our room?" Yuki sounded upset, "There is a problem."

"Give me a minute, I'll be right over." Hurrying to change clothes, he was interrupted by a knock on the door. He yanked the door open in irritation, ready to take the head off of whoever was disturbing him. He jerked the door open to find a very embarrassed looking Hiro standing at his door.

"Sorry K, the hotel has overbooked and I don't seem to have a bed. I was told that you don't have a roommate and I was wondering if I could bunk with you." Eventhough Hiro's head was down K could tell that he was blushing to his toes.

K grabbed his chin and lifted Hiro's head wondering, not for the first time, why he though of this boy as Hiro rather that Nakano. He never thought of clients' by their given names.

"Sure Hiro, bring in your stuff and get unpacked. Take the bed by the window. I have to leave and I'll probably be gone for a while. Go ahead and order something to eat. You'll probably be asleep when I get back so don't worry about it."

He was out the door without even taking the time to get a thank you. He could feelHiro's eyes on his back as he walked down the hall. He blocked a sudden guilty feeling, 'why would he be feeling guilt?' as he walked away.

A very pale Shu answered the door when he knocked. He could see Yuki in the background rushing around the room, shoving things into an overnight bag. He pushed past Shindou and grabbed Yuki by the arm.

"What's happened, what the hell is the matter?"

When Yuki looked up, K could read the panic in his eyes. Seeing that look in those cold ambereyes, K steeled himself for what was to come.

"They've moved up the hit. I only have forty-eight hours."

His knees went weak and he quickly sat on the bed, "What are you going to do?"

"I've got to get him out of here, now!"

"Are you crazy! Look outside, there has got to be at least a foot and a half of snow out there and it is still coming down. The wind is blowing so hard you can't see a foot in front of your face. You and Shindou would both freeze to death in a very short time."

"Would you rather see him with a bullet through his head!" Yuki shouted.

K watched as Shindou's face got even paler. But, it was the boy who finally managed to calm Yuki down. He simply walked over and wrapped his arms around Yuki's waist, looking him in the eyes.

"He's right Yuki. I know it and you know it too."

Yuki returned Shindou's hug but continued to glare daggers at K. "So, what do you suggest we do?"

"First, I suggest we get something to eat. I'm hungry." K grinned trying to cool the situation further. The statement was so absurd at this point in time that even Yuki managed a smile. The ordered room service and Yuki ended up having to help Shindou order because he kept looking at the menu upside down.

"I thought you were supposed to be helping him with English?" K joked.

"I just did, didn't I?" Yuki managed to quip back.

Ryothought the night they had to spend back in Japan was bad, but it wasn't anything compared to what they were going through now.

When they had first gotten off of the plane he andDee were expected back at the station immediately to give a report. These were some of the most uncomfortable moments he would ever spend in his life.

He andhis partnerhad spent the entire trip to the station coming up with logical reasons why they had just let an assassin and multiple murderer go. Neither could think of anything that would not blow K's cover. They ended up settling on the 'catching a bigger fish' excuse. Neither was sure this would really work since Mr. Yuki was a pretty big fish himself.

It was no surprise that as soon as they got into the station, the Chief started yelling. "Dee, Ryo, get your asses in here! I sent you all the way to Japan, now where is your perp! I don't see anyone in cuffs! Did you enjoy your little vacation! I'm taking this out of your salaries!" The Chief was red-faced and panting when he was done.

"Chief," Dee began, "there is more to this…"

"I don't want to hear it!"

"We were right, Chief," Ryo tried, "Mr. Yuki is the assassin. He has agreed to turn State's evidence."

"Then where the hell is he!"

"Well Chief, we had to let him do something first. The situation is complicated, he did go to Japan for another hit, but he…umm…fell in love with his mark." Ryo now looked to him for help.

"He is now acting as protector for said mark. He is the best person for the job." Dee added nervously.

"You go arrest his ass now. Bring the mark into protective custody…"

As the Chief continued to rage, Ryo noticed that a crowd had gathered outside the chief's office. He what he was about to say could not be heard by anyone else. As the Chief was busy chewing Dee's ass, Ryo went over and closed the door and blinds. He walked over and took the insignia book off of the shelf and searched until he found Shadow Operations. He quietly laid the opened book on the Chief's desk.

Ryo had to yell twice to be heard over the ranting.

"What the Hell do you want!" The Chief rounded on him.

"I want you to look at something." Ryo pointed to the insignia in the book.

"So?"

"Have you ever seen one of these?"

"Yeah smartass, it's right there in front of me."

"I mean have you ever actually met anyone wearing one?"

Ryo could swear the Chief's face turned a slight shade of green, "Hell no, no one's ever supposed to see these."

"Well we have. And, let's just say that any attempts to arrest this man at this point in time would be frowned upon."

"You made your point, now put that away." The Chief waved nervously at his bookshelf. He was wringing his hands like they needed to be washed.

"And, Chief," Ryo thought he would add, "if this works, the entire organization will fall."

"Just tell me one thing Ryo, why are they involved?"

"It's a personal matter, for the agent."

"All right, but you had still better not lose him!" The Chief was back to yelling again,

"Get your asses back on the trail!"

After the visit to the precinct he and Ryo sat watching the hotel. Not that he could see anything in this weather anyways. Dee figured the snow would be over the top of the car by morning. They took turns going out to clear the tailpipe. The ignition could not be turned off for more than a few minutes without the car becoming freezing inside. Dee watched the gas gauge carefully and knew they wouldn't make it the entire night. Ryo hadn't been feeling well and Dee was letting him sleep.

"Ryo, wake up," Dee finally gave in to eventuality and the weather, "we're not going to make it out here. We need to get someplace warmer."

"We can't leave Dee," the car was getting colder and Ryo's teeth were chattering even with the engine running and the heater going full blast. "Chief'll kill us."

"Don't be an idiot Ryo, we can't stay here and we can't go in there," Dee pointed to Yuki's hotel. "Let's try that one." He pointed to another hotel across the street. "I'll try to get us a room with a facing view. You wait here and don't shut the engine off its too cold in here already."

"Yeah right, I'll keep it warm." Ryo tried to smile but all he got was more teeth chattering instead.

Dee knew he had been gone a long time when he finally managed to get back out to the car. And, he was not a happy camper.

"Couldn't get a room?" Ryo forced out when he got back into the car.

"I got one, but I had to pull my badge and we had to pay double, one for the room and one for the couple they were forced to move to a new room. At least we have our view. I'll get our bags, you just get inside."

"I can help Dee."

"Just get inside Ryo. Besides you'll have to get the phone, they called the Chief."

"Shit, thanks Dee, just what I need tonight."

Dee finally made it up to the room to find Ryo lying on the bed wrapped in blankets and fully dressed.

"Chief call?" Ryo only nodded yes.

"And…?"

"Told him I'd pay, shut him up real fast."

Ryo was still shivering so badly that he was getting worried. "Ryo, go get a hot bath, it'll help."

"Can't move." Ryo groaned, "I feel dizzy."

Dee took it upon himself to get Ryo undressed and into the hot water. Ryo felt a little warm to the touch, but it wasn't too bad. After the bath, he gave Ryo a couple of Tylenol and sent him to bed. He would have to stay up all night, but at least he was warm. Turning on the television, he prepared for a boring night.

He had make the mistake of dozing off and was started awake by the sound of a single gunshot that sounded like it came from the room just a floor below. Ryo was out of the bed in an instant pulling on his clothes. Dee was already at the door.

"Stay here Ryo, I'll check this out." He commanded and ran out the door.

Yuki, Shu, and K had just finished dinner. None of them had really felt like eating anything, but K had insisted that they should.

"K could you scout the inside of the hotel, to see if there is anywhere Shu could hide here. At least until the weather settles?"

"Huh, it might work for a while. I'll look, what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to have to leave for while," Yuki noticed the frightened look on Shu's face and gently touched his cheek, "just for a few hours. I have to pick up some things. I'm not much good to you as I am."

K nodded but Shu only looked confused.

"I'm sorry Shu, I have to look like I'm getting ready which means I am going to have go and pick up a few things…"

Suddenly there was a loud pop in the room and Yuki felt a sting on his cheek. He placed his fingers to the area and they came away bloody. He turned to glance at the window, quickly locating the bullet hole and followed the path to where the bullet was embedded in the wall. The shot had not been directed at Shu, but at him.

Everything seemed to slow down as Yuki quickly got up. He glanced to K to see that he was drawing his gun and he motioned for him to stop. Shu had fallen back on his rear from the shock and Yuki motioned for him to stay down. He walked to the window and traced where the bullet had come from. 'Hotel across the street, one floor down' he noted to himself. There was no movement now. A flash of light caught his eye, another gunshot. Two more flashes followed and the lights came on. Dee was in the other room and looking out the window. Their eyes metand the detective gave him a wave. Yuki quickly closed the curtains. The world slowed back down. Heturned back to see both Shu and K starting at him in amazement.

"I guess that's why you're considered the best." K announced calmly at the same time Shu said, "Yuki, they shot you!"

K had never seen anyone move so fast in his life. And there was different look in Yuki's eyes, one that K remembered from years ago. They were no longer standing in the room with Eiri Yuki, journalist. This was Mr. Thomas, professional assassin.

Yuki's first thought was for Shu. He quickly pulled him up from the floor.

"Was that for me?" Shu's voice shook with his trembling.

Yuki's eyes flashed back for just a second, "No love, not yet. That was a warning for me." He grabbed Shu in a quick hug and gave him the briefest of kisses. When he raised his head again Mr. Thomas was back.

"That was just a warning, I have to go. K, please take Shu back to your room for the night. Don't leave him alone. Take some of his things, he cannot come back to this room."

"Yuki," Shu cried, "you can't just leave me." Shu made a grab for Yuki's arm but K stopped him.

"That's not Yuki right now Shu. You may want Yuki, but that is Mr. Thomas right now and that is who you are going to need." When Yuki made a step in Shu's direction he flinched back. Yuki saw the flinch and his eyes snapped back from their intense coldness. He got to his knees in front of the kid.

"Don't ever be afraid of me. This is part of me too, and every part of me loves you. This is to protect you, not to hurt you. You were able to still love me when you found out I was an assassin, don't stop now that you have seen him. He is part of me, but not all, not even close."

"Okay Yuki, I think I understand. I'm afraid but I still love you."

"K, get him out of here, and call Dee. He can explain more about what happened. I don't have the time." Yuki pulled on a coat and hat, "I'll be back by morning." Yuki slipped quietly out the window.

"What the…" K made it to the window in time to see Yuki land on the ground, then he disappeared into the snow.

The singerwalked towards the window but K pulled him back, "Where did he go K? Did he jump? We're on the sixteenth floor!"

"Isaw him land Shindou, he's okay. Now, pack a few things, quickly, we need to get out of here."

Once again a big ThankYou to all of my reviewers: girlo, SuperDrive, Kemet, kuma-chan, i love athrun, and murray the leprechaun.

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