Years Ahead
Chapter 1
Shuichi blinked, as he looked around; he had just stepped outside to go to work, and noticed immediately that something was wrong. Things had changed…the street had aged over ten years, but it had been normal just the night before. "What's going on?" He wondered, as he walked along. "What happened?"
He didn't recognize anything anymore, it was all different. He frowned, and leaned against a wall, staring at the completely different surroundings. He didn't know where he was, but he was glad he hadn't gone outside in his pajamas. That would have been embarrassing. He glances up at the sign above the door of the shop he was leaning against. "…Clocktower Mechanics…." He sighed. Underneath the name of the shop, though, was a name he recognized. "….Aizawa?" Usually, the name of the owner of the shop would be put underneath the name of the shop…but did that mean Aizawa owned this shop?
But where was he? Why would Taki Aizawa own a mechanics garage? Wasn't he a musician? But then again, ASK had broken up, so maybe…no, Taki wouldn't have any interest in machines, owning them or fixing them, which was what was supposed to be done at a mechanics garage. Maybe he was in an alternate universe, and Taki was a gangster who would shoot him up if he said something wrong, or…smoke entered Shuichi's nostrils, and it occurred to him that the wisp of smoke had come from inside the shop. He looked left and right, but no one else found the smoke odd. Maybe they hadn't noticed it? He sighed, and poked his head into the shop; no one was around.
"Hello?" He made his way to a back room, where he found a teenaged boy lying on the ground, cuddled up to another boy. One looked like Taki, except for the gloves on his hands, and the obvious grease smudges on his face. This was the mechanic, for sure. The other…he blinks. The other teen looks like a teenaged Tohma, although the brown streaks in his hair make for some differences, at the very least.
Behind the boys he saw a whirring, smoking metal ring, lights lit up, and buttons blinking. "This is what made everything turn all weird…" Shuichi told himself, then stared down at the sleeping couple. "How do they sleep through something like this?" He kicked the black-haired teen in the side. "Wake up!" The blonde didn't even stir, but the kicked teen woke immediately.
"Ergh….who kicked me?" He grumbled, opening his eyes. His brown eyes slid to Shuichi. "Who are you, and what are you doing in my workshop?" He asked, sitting up.
"The machine's smoke brought me in. And I'm Shuichi Shindou!" Shuichi scoffed. The teen looked at the machine, and his eyes widened.
"Crap!" He grabbed a pair of goggles off the ground, put them on, and quickly rushed to the machine to stop the machine from smoking. Gears flew out behind him, along with a bunch of wires, screws, washers, and various parts of the machine. After a while, the machine stopped smoking. "…Thanks, if that had gone on like that, it would never work again."
"What is it?"
"A time machine. I can't imagine how it turned on, though. I wasn't even finished building it." The teen wondered. "…And who did you say you were?"
"Shuichi Shindou."
"No, you aren't. I know Shuichi Shindou. He's older than you." The teen scoffed, frowning at the damage he had to do to his own machine to stop it from smoking.
"Really? Who're you, then?"
"The name's Zaka Aizawa." The boy replied. "People say I look just like my dad, but I wouldn't really know about that…"
"Then…I didn't go to an alternate universe…I'm just in the future." Shuichi paused, and thought over his own words. "Wait, the future!"
"Yeah, you said it yourself, right, Shindou-san?" Zaka asked, staring at the singer through his goggles.
"Oh, right…by the way, who's your friend?" Shuichi pointed to the still sleeping teen.
"Dammit, Seguchi, you can sleep through everything, can't you?" Zaka muttered. "That's Koji Seguchi, my best friend. You get any idea of us being lovers or something simply because you found us cuddling, I'm going to smash your skull with my wrench." Zaka held up a wrench as if to prove a point.
"You're serious, huh?" Shuichi paled.
"You bet." Zaka replied, turning back to the machine. "…Weird, I would have expected Koji's dad or brother to call by now. Is the famous Tohma Seguchi finally turning his back on his mischievous son?" He glanced over at Koji.
"So…I'm really in the future, huh? No wonder the street I was on aged. I stepped outside, and I ended up here." Shuichi sighed.
"You stepped outside and you ended up here? Something's definitely gone wrong. The time machine's not supposed to work this way." Zaka scowled, looking much older for a moment.
"Zaka….?" Koji sat up, yawning. He looked around, rubbing his turquoise eyes. He glanced around the room, looking over Shuichi twice, before it finally occurred to him. "Oh, crap, I didn't get home! Mom's gonna kill me!"
"I doubt Mika-san's that violent, Koji." Zaka told the blonde.
"But I didn't go home this time! As long as I'm home before morning, it's usually okay!" Koji turned around, eyes welling with tears. "And you probably hate me now, too, cause I was cuddling you…nyaaa! I couldn't help it, I just wanted to cuddle you…like Ryuichi-san cuddles Kumagoro…"
"Um….don't worry, Koji. I don't hate you." Zaka couldn't think of anything else to say. 'He…wanted to cuddle me? Like Ryuichi-san cuddles Kumagoro? But…he can get into some pretty intimate positions with that rabbit of his…' Zaka thought…a new thought struck and his face flushed red.
"No, you do, Zaka! You're so mad at me, your face is red!" Koji froze. "Red face?" He looked again, but the blush was still there. "Ehhh? What's wrong, Zaka?" Koji crawled over to Zaka and put a hand to the other boy's forehead. "You don't seem to have a fever…"
Shuichi smirked at seeing Zaka's reaction. It was so funny, but reminded him of himself and Eiri somehow. "It's nothing, Koji, I'm fine!" Zaka growled. "And move, would ya? You're too close!"
"But your face is red! How do I know you're not sick or something!" Koji worried, and scooted closer, up onto Zaka's lap this time, staring him in the eye, pulling the goggles down to his neck.
"I told you, Ko-Koji, I'm f…fine." The red on Zaka's face deepened, which only caused Koji to scoot closer, pinning Zaka on his back.
"No, you aren't. You're stuttering…you're not the calm Zaka you usually are…maybe you didn't get enough sleep." Koji said seriously, staring down at Zaka's shocked face. Shuichi's grin only widened.
"…N-n-no, Koji…I'm fine! B-besides, Shindou-san's here!" Zaka blurted out the last one as an excuse to try to get Koji off of him.
"So? It's good Shindou-san's here…I'm not very good at taking care of sick people. Maybe cause I'm normally the one who's sick…" Koji smiled.
Zaka resisted the urge to say 'you're rather sick right now' and instead, swallowed hard, offering a soft, "But…if the time machine worked the same on the others as it did on Shindou-san, then Tohma could come in at any time now."
"Dad's no fun only as my dad. Younger, he's probably cool."
"K-K-Koji…" Zaka stammered as Koji put his hands on either side of Zaka's head, and lowered himself until he was quite close to Zaka's face. "Koji, what are you doing.." His question was cut off by Koji placing his lips over his own, then scooting off of him, smiling.
Zaka sat up, panting for air; the kiss had lasted perhaps only thirty seconds, maybe less, but it seemed so much longer. "Dad told me that sometimes, a kiss can make everything better!"
"N-n-not on the lips!" Zaka snapped, his blush deeper and now spreading past his cheeks.
"Eh? It didn't work…you're even redder now…." Koji said, confused.
And in the background, Shuichi was grinning ear to ear, and clutching his camera with glee.
