Thanks, everyone, for your reviews! Shuichi really has a girlfriend. I know it's hard to imagine him with a girl, but if I put him with a guy again, he'll appear to be really a gay when in fact, he claimed to be bisexual. But don't worry, there's more… Shuichi's POV in one of the upcoming chapters (most probably chapter 6) will reveal more about the nature of his relationship with Haruko and Akiha separately (wink).
DISCLAIMER: Gravitation does not belong to me.
MOU ICHI DO
Chapter 3 --- Midnight Coffee
Yuki sat and watched as Touma cleared his desk. He then turned to frown suspiciously at the man with dark blue hair next to him.
"What the heck are you doing here, Tatsuha?"
"Aww… aniki. Don't look at me like that… I came to visit my dear brother-in-law…" Tatsuha grinned back in response.
"Yeah, right. Hoping to catch a glimpse of your stupid idol at the same time?" Yuki smirked and mocked.
"Don't call him stupid!" Tatsuha began defending Ryuichi courageously and crazily, as if his own life was on the line.
"Eiri-san, I'm glad that you could make it…" Touma finally settled down, giving Tatsuha the cue to knock it off. "No trouble, I hope?"
Yuki stared into Touma's icy blue eyes. Did Touma know that Shuichi was here?
Touma smiled, hiding his eyes. "I tried calling you to change our meeting place so that we could maybe go out for lunch-"
"So that I wouldn't meet him?"
Touma's eyes widened in shock, while Tatsuha looked puzzled as to what was going on.
"You've met him!"
"Yes. He came running into me, knocking me down, stuttering sorry, and then taking off just as quickly again." Yuki pulled out his lighter to light a cigarette. "Care to explain?"
"What a coincidence... But I had no idea that he would be here with his friends. Actually, his manager is the heir to Miyamoto Works, the second largest showbiz company in America after XMR. The owner of Miyamoto Works, Miyamoto Hideichi, is one of my acquaintances. That's why they came to pay me a visit. I did not meet Shindou-san as he went looking for Nakano-san, Ryuichi-san and the rest."
"WHAT! You mean that Shuichi was here earlier!" Tatsuha jumped out of his seat, and turned to Yuki. "And you've met him!"
"Shut up! You're so noisy." Yuki snapped.
"Did anything happen just now? Were you two alone?" Touma inquired worriedly.
"We were alone, but nothing happened. We barely talked as he was in a GREAT hurry." Yuki replied coolly, blowing out a long trail of smoke.
"I would guess so. If he was alone… it just meant that he was in a rush a meet up with his manager and girlfriend…" Touma stared intently at Yuki who made no indication of what he felt.
"He has a girlfriend!" Tatsuha's jaw dropped.
"Apparently, yes. Miyamoto Haruko, the heiress to Miyamoto Works."
"Whoa… Shuichi's really doing very well. Even after quitting as a singer and everything. He's still as famous and successful…" Tatsuha breathed in awe, as Touma continued casting curious and worried glances at Yuki.
At this moment, Yuki's mobile phone rang.
"What!" That was Yuki's usual way of answering calls. By snapping.
"Eiri-san?" A husky voice sounded over the phone.
Yuki frowned and closed his eyes. Atsushi.
"What do you want?"
"I want to meet you tonight at eleven, at the same old place. Is that fine?"
"Whatever for? I've got other women waiting for me."
"For fun." Atsushi's voice laced with mischief. "Please be there, or I'll miss you so much… And please don't bring your women along… "
The line went dead.
Yuki got up and headed for the door.
"Eiri-san, you're leaving so soon?"
"I need to finish my work." Yuki clicked the door close behind him.
A girlfriend, huh? Well, he's doing very well without me. But it's not like I'm not doing well too… with my novels selling hot fast, and with all the women who are willing to throw themselves at me, including a guy, Atsushi… Yuki entered the elevator and jabbed at a button. We do fine without each other. Maybe even better.
xxxxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxxxx
Blaring horns of cars could be heard as they stepped out of "Sense Gallery", a high-class gallery where most major exhibitions are held.
"Phew… it's was lucky we made it in time…" Haruko breathed a sigh of relief, and then smile apologetically at her brother and Shuichi. "Sorry I forgot to tell you guys about this. Inoue-san called to inform me about the change when he couldn't contact oniichan…"
"It's ok since you remembered in time…" Tsuyoshi patted Haruko on her head. "Anyway, what's going on there?"
There was a crowd forming in front of a bookshop. Curious, the three of them hurried forward and tried peering into the bookshop through the excited crowd.
"Tanaka Miyabi!"
"Look! That's her!"
"She's so beautiful!"
Haruko frowned. "Who's Tanaka Miyabi?"
"Don't you know?" A lady turned to face them with disbelief. "She is a romance novelist that just surfaced in the industry, and her first book is very popular and fast-selling!"
"A romance novelist?" Shuichi gaped at the lady. "Like… Yuki Eiri?"
"Yes and no! She's not as famous as Yuki Eiri. Although her novel is very interesting and touching, it cannot beat Yuki-sensei's novels! Yuki-sensei is the best always!" The lady had a dreamy look on her face, two beating red hearts replacing her eyes.
Shuichi focused his eyes on Tanaka Miyabi. She was beautiful indeed with long, shiny, dark green hair and clear sea-blue eyes. Her smile was extremely bright too.
"Tanaka-sensei, do you actually believe in forever love? In a previous interview, Yuki Eiri-sensei (screams erupting from the crowd) had commented that forever love was a ridiculous idea. What do you think?" The reporter asked.
"Well, Yuki-sensei (screams from the crowd) is a very successful and well-known novelist, so his comments are very precious to me." Tanaka Miyabi smiled, but to Shuichi, it seemed to be forced. And did he detect a slight sarcasm in her voice?
"However, I do believe in forever love. It's a blessing that only some can enjoy, but it seems like Yuki-sensei is not one of them."
Several gasps could be heard, including Shuichi's.
Was she insulting Yuki?
"How dare you say that, you bitch!"
"Don't you dare insult my Yuki-san!"
Thee crowd grew enraged, mainly Yuki's ardent fans. They started hurling abuses back and glaring at Tanaka Miyabi. Some chose to leave.
"Come on, Shuichi. Looks like it's gonna get quite ugly and messy here. It's dangerous. Let's go…" Tsuyoshi maneuvered Shuichi and Haruko out of the crowd.
"Seems to me that Yuki Eiri is really popular here! But I understand the reason for that. His novels are really touching, don't you agree? I bet Jun will be really happy when she's here too!" Haruko laughed. "I hope that we get to meet Yuki-san…"
She turned to Shuichi. "You knew him when you were a singer, right?"
"Yeah… but…" Shuichi began panicking.
"Otousan said that Seguchi-san was very clever to come up with a marketing strategy like that. Using a 'gay' relationship to increase popularity… hahahahaha… how did you managed to pull that off?" She elbowed Shuichi gently, teasing him.
Shuichi forced himself to laugh along, silently relieved. So that was how others saw us back then…
"Shu-kun! We're free for the rest of today, before Bad Grasper's concert. Why don't you show us around! I want to visit all the interesting and fun places in Tokyo!"
"Sure!" Shuichi replied excitedly as they got into the car.
xxxxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxxxx
It was 10:01pm and deafening screams could be heard in Rave Box, a famous, cool party hall where rocks band play through the night.
Shuichi fidgeted as he waited alone in anticipation. Fortunately, nobody seemed to recognize Shuichi with his new look.
Too bad Haruko's not feeling well…She must be too tired after visiting so many places today. I wished she could have been here to watch this… What a pity.
At long last, Hiro, Suguru and his no. 1 idol, Ryuichi, appeared on the stage.
They look fabulous… Shuichi noted, feeling a new surge of energy in him. Cool! Hiro looks great, Fujisaki is always so confident, and Sakuma-san… he's the best forever!
"Minna! Thanks for coming tonight! To kick off, here's 'Shining Collection'!" Ryuichi waved his arm hysterically, before switching to his serious mood.
……
Kiss shining hito mi ni kuchizukete
Toke dasu hanabira mo jama ni naru
Make me shining irozuku shigeki no hate ni
Kagayakihajimeta maboroshi
……
……
……
Shuichi felt great. This was even better than Nittle Grasper. Before long, he was screaming and waving madly (really MADLY) with the rest of the crowd, cheering Bad Grasper on as the band belted out their songs, including 'Sleepless Beauty' and their newest single 'Winter Love'.
It wasn't long before the concert ended.
"Whoa… I would love to attend more of their concerts before I return to America! Sakuma-san is soooo cool!" Shuichi clutched Bad Grasper's CD (with Ryuichi's autograph on it) tightly with a dreamy look on his face. When he had visited them backstage after the concert, Ryuichi had promptly glomped him countless times, chattering happily away, and presenting him their CD. "I'm gonna ask for a poster the next time!"
He was walking alone across a small park, towards the main street, on his way back to the hotel. It was then when he heard voices coming from the direction in front of him, where he was approaching. He could make out two figures latched together on the park bench.
"This is for you…"
He frowned. Lovers making out… argh… I should just ignore them. It's rude to look…but…
"You called me out just for this? It's a waste of my time."
This voice…
The other party chuckled. "Don't be so cold… not to me…"
Shuichi froze in his tracks as he made out who they were. Or at least one of them. The one who had glowing blonde hair and piercing golden eyes.
Yuki…
Yuki was locked in a kiss with a slender, pretty guy. They began touching each other with lust, before the stranger pulled away reluctantly. It seemed like he had caught Shuichi with the corner of his eye, as he turned to look in Shuichi's direction.
"Shuichi?" Yuki had traced Atsushi's gaze and found his ex-lover staring at him. As if on instinct, Yuki pushed Atsushi further away and stood him, brushing his coat hastily, before turning to address Shuichi again. "Why are you here?"
"I… I was just at Bad Grasper's concert… Rave Box… and now I'm on my way back… to the hotel." Shuichi fumbled and look away. After a slight pause, he turned back and gave Yuki a slight smile, somewhat sheepishly. "Er… Sorry to disturb you. I should be going…"
"Wait!" Yuki replied a bit too quickly, and looked away uneasily. "…Care for a midnight coffee?"
Shuichi frowned slightly, considering Atsushi. "But…"
"I see that you guys need to talk. I won't disturb you then. Call me soon, Eiri-san…" Atsushi began walking off in the direction of Rave Box.
Yuki ignored Atsushi and kept his eyes on Shuichi for an answer.
"Ok…" Shuichi nodded slightly, and followed as Yuki led the way to his car.
xxxxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxxxx
Silence hung in between them as they stirred and stared intently at their own cups of coffee.
Shuichi could hear his heart pounding in his ears. As usual,he was the one who tried to break the silence.
"I'm sorry about crashing into you this morning. I was really in a rush to settle some matters to do with my work…" Shuichi looked up at Yuki briefly, before looking away again.
"Forget it. You were saying 'work'… meaning the exhibition by Sakurai Akiha?" Yuki took a sip of his coffee.
"Yeah. Akiha's going to be here tomorrow night, and the exhibition will start the day after tomorrow."
"You're his model?"
"Yup! I'm his model for his personal work, but if some company engages him to be in charge of advertising, I'm the model for most of those advertisements as well."
"Oh… so how long will you be in town?"
"2 to 3 weeks… Akiha did mention wanting to take photos in Tokyo, before we return to America."
Silence. So far, the conversation was going on just fine, but it felt as if they were strangers talking casually to each other.
"Is… is there anyone who came back to Tokyo with you?"
"Well, yes! My manager and my…" Shuichi realized what he was about to say. Embarrassed, he trailed off and chose to drink his coffee instead.
"Your girlfriend?"
Shuichi almost choked. Struggling to recover himself, he blushed andlooked away, giving a small nod.
Silence.
"Good for you…" Yuki dug into his coat for his pack of cigarettes.
"Thanks… and… er… is that your…" Shuichi fumbled again.
"No. He's only one amongst many." Yuki replied, feeling a little irritated and unhappy for some reason. "I don't go into serious relationships."
Immediately, he regretted his choice of words as he saw Shuichi cringed. An awkward silence followed.
Trying to find something to busy himself with so as to feel less uncomfortable, Yuki reached for the tiny menu that stood on the table. Coincidentally, Shuichi had reached for the same menu at the same time. Their hands touched each other's for a brief moment.Yuki froze while Shuichi's eyes widened in shock. However, Yuki's heart sank and he felt a strange contracting pain as he watched Shuichi recoil in fright, pulling his hand back as quickly as possible.
"Sorry." His ex-pink hair lover murmured.
But if Shuichi had dared to look up at Yuki, he might haveseenthe hurtreflected in Yuki's startling golden eyes, even if it lasted only for a few seconds.Yuki withdrew his hand and raised it up to brush his hair back instead.
After a few minutes of silence again, Shuichi finally smiled and said: "It's getting late. I should be going, or they'll be worried…… See you another time?"
"Hnn…" Yuki set his cup down. "Want a lift back?"
Standing up, Shuichi smiled and shook his head. "It's ok… I'll just hail a cab. Bye!"
Yuki only nodded in response.
And Shuichi left.
xx tbc xx
Ok! End of chapter 3. I realized that there are many change of scenes in a chapter. Hope it's ok…
It's gonna be funnier and brighter when Akiha appears… in the next, next chapter! Hee hee. I can't wait! So, PLEASE read on!
But somehow… I feel as though I'm trying to handle too many parts of the story… like there're too many things happening and too many characters. Sigh… I hope I don't confuse you guys! I'll try to focus more on Yuki and Shu!