WOOT! I think I've greatly improved my writing since the first chapter! I mean, reread the first one. It's so short, undetailed and blah... But then you read this, and you (hopefull) go, "Wow!" YES! I'm getting better! Even the people at gurabite aren't telling me I suck! WOOT! I feel SO happy! I'm gonna redo ALL my chapters now! They aren't satisfying me at all... Yes, that will take awhile... -sighs- AND I've chosen to continue 'Just a Shadow' thanks to Suanne. So, if you wanted me to update that badly, thank her! And Julin X was good help as well! I appreciated her review! -is flattered-

Please continue to review. I realized that in some of the chapter, I demanded review. I apologize. The reason I did that was because I wanted to see if anyone was interested. I could get 1000 hits, but if no one liked it, it would be worthless. So, that's why I ask, because I have to know if anyone enjoys it. If they don't, I would just continue it on Word and never post anything. I need to know. That's why I ask. So, if I offended you earlier, please forgive me. I won't do that EVER again. I promise.

Once again, I have ANOTHER twist! MUWAHAHA! Read and you'll find out! I'll thank you forever if you review as well! And the title will definitely confuse you. It'll make sense in the next chapter.

And thank-you Suanne! (sp?) Your reviews on 'LDAUP' and 'Just a Shadow' are greatly appreciated! -hugs you- Do you have an email address or account? Maybe you could help me on the next chapter of 'JAS'? It's okay if you don't want to though! And I hope you're reading this as well! You're a good constructive criticizer, so I enjoy your comments. They aren't all, "You rock!" even though I enjoy those reviews, and they aren't like, "Your story sucks" either. It really improves my writing! This just goes to show that CC DOES improve writing, and flames DO NOT. Thank you!

Disclaimer: I don't own Gravitation.


Chapter 10: Dirty Tricks for a Witness

It was dark and gloomy at Yuki's apartment. The light simply refused to shine on it, leaving the apartment dark and cold like ice. No one in the room could smile or laugh. They could only stand there, waiting for something. What, they didn't know yet, though they hoped it would be good. Hiro began to pace back and forth, keeping close eye on Shuichi, who had given up the ability to talk and merely sat on the ground. His coughing fit had ended a few minutes ago, after help from a concerned Hiro.

Thousands of thoughts rushed through Hiro's head. He couldn't ponder about anything else besides Tatsuha at the moment. He barely knew the boy, who was still a teenager, but telling from Shuichi's shocked face, Hiro knew this boy was a good person. And Yuki's face surprised him the most. Yuki NEVER asked for help. Shuichi had told Hiro that several times, saying that Yuki was so independent, unless the help was from Tohma. Yuki rarely asked for anything, but if he did, he got it. Tohma could almost buy the world for Yuki if he wanted to, and Hiro doubted Tohma would decline if Yuki asked such of him. So, what he was thinking was that it was a big deal if Yuki asked for help. This brought up another group of questions, ones he failed to ask earlier due to shock.

How did Shuichi get sick? Why did he get sick? And was it a serious illness? Was Shuichi dying, but not telling his best friend? Impossible, Hiro decided. It was probably just a normal illness, one that just needed daily treatment of some sort. Obviously, this daily treatment included medication and never leaving the patient alone, who happened to be Shuichi. 'That means that he probably gets dizzy or lightheaded from his sickness' Hiro thought. 'That's why Yuki was watching him. That's a surprise. I would think that Yuki would've dropped Shuichi off at my house once he found out the conditions. I guess that jerk DOES have a heart somewhere in there…' He let out a sigh, which caused Shuichi to shiver.

"Hiro…?" Shuichi asked gently. Hiro looked at Shuichi, giving him to cue to go on. Shuichi wiped his tear-stained eyes and continued. "Do you think Tatsuha will be okay? And what about Yuki? He seemed extremely upset! I'm worried, Hiro…" His face was one of a broken angel. No, not a fallen angel, a broken one. And that was a devastating sight.

Hiro would've broken out in tears right there. He hated to see Shuichi hurt. That was why he told himself he would kill Yuki and/or Taki after he heard about what Taki did to Shuichi. Hiro had been furious towards everyone except Shuichi, whom he spoke to gently and soothingly at the time. And the worst part was that Shuichi hadn't cared about himself after the attack. He was only worried about Yuki, because he was such a selfless person. And now, he wasn't worried about himself because he was sick. He was once again worried about others, Yuki and Tatsuha. It was so stunning to see a person like that, because they were rare. Hiro happened to be lucky enough to be friends with someone like this. And Shuichi thought HE was lucky…

"Don't worry Shu…" Hiro assured his desperate friend. "I'm sure Tatsuha will be fine. From what I know about him, he seems like a tough guy. He won't die without a fight. After all, he has to live for his idol, Ryuichi Sakuma, right?" Shuichi nodded slowly. Both of them thought, 'I bet Ryuichi will rush over when he hears the news, since Tatsuha got hit by a car on his way back from his concert.' They each knew how Ryuichi was, and were both positive this would occur. "And Yuki will be fine as well. He's even tougher than Tatsuha. He always pulls through, doesn't he?" Shuichi nodded once again, but Hiro knew he was only nodding to please Hiro. "Look Shu, I'm worried as well. Both of us should be, but we can't change what happens. We're not the doctors, you know. They decided Tatsuha's fate, which I believe will be a good one." Hiro paused and thought for a moment. "The worst that could've happen with the doctors is that Yuki tried to strangle one of them because he's worried or upset. And I bet he'd do that if they were slow, too." He let out a dry laugh. Shuichi smiled weakly.

"Yeah, I guess…" he said. "But still, I hardly ever see Yuki so upset. I hate when he's sad, because then I get sad, too." He pouted slightly. "It has to be REALLY bad for Yuki to show his feelings like that. He looked like he was about to cry, Hiro. That worried me even more. I mean, what if Tatsuha doesn't pull through? What will Yuki do? What will I do? Tatsuha is such a great guy, Hiro, even though he…" Shuichi paused and took a deep breath. "I wish you could've seen him more often." Hiro sweat dropped. He remembered one of the times he met Tatsuha and made that deal with him for Ryuichi's phone number. (1) That guy was seriously obsessed with him. And then Tatsuha randomly complimented Shuichi, which was creepy… But Tatsuha did give off his aura of happiness and spring. Hiro cleared his head quickly.

"I wish so, too" Hiro said. "Even Yuki has to show his feelings in a situation like this. And I'm pretty sure Tatsuha will pull through. I personally don't believe his time is up. He's Buddhist, right?" Shuichi nodded. "Well, let Buddha be with him then. I'm sure that he'll be alright." Hiro sighed again and looked at the clock. It had been fifteen minutes since Yuki left, fifteen minutes. To Hiro, it seemed like days. Every moment of silence lasted a long and painful hour and every second just added to his torment. He wanted to know what was going on. He knew Shuichi did as well. "Let's go into the guest room. I might have to stay the night, so you can show me where everything is." Shuichi agreed and led Hiro to the guest bedroom.

CLICK. Hiro and Shuichi entered the guest room. It was quite small, but it was large enough for one person. Hiro looked at the walls. They were plain as day, white. It seemed like Yuki put no effort into decorating this room for guests. That gave off the vibe that Yuki didn't like guests in general, and wanted them to stay away. He ignored the vibes and continued to look through the room. It had one nightstand next to the bed and a peach-colored rug. There was a small TV on an empty drawer that had no cable and no remote. It was dusty, giving evidence to conclude that no one had watched it in awhile. Other than that, the room was surprisingly bare.

"Well, as you can see, there isn't much for me to show you" Shuichi said with a dry laugh. "The TV doesn't have a remote. Yuki threw it out the window the day he bought it for some reason… Anyways, the bed is right there, and the nightstand is over there, and… Okay, this is stupid. You can figure the rest out yourself." He gave a quick glance to Hiro, who merely nodded.

"Wait, do you need any clothes?" Shuichi asked hastily. "You didn't bring pajamas, did you?" Hiro shook his head. Shuichi mentally slammed himself for even asking. Who brought pajamas with them to visit a friend whose boyfriend wouldn't let you stay over even if you happened to ask? "Okay, I'll go get you some; hold on." Shuichi began to leave the room. Suddenly, a wave of dizziness hit him and he almost fell over. Luckily, Hiro noticed this immediately and rushed over. He saved his friend the fall. Shuichi rubbed his head and blushed. "Sorry, I just got a bit dizzy." Hiro began to look concerned. He loosened his grip on Shuichi.

"Yuki did mention that you were sick" Hiro said smoothly. "I assume my suspicions were correct that you get dizzy and lightheaded, right?" Shuichi nodded. "So that's why Yuki needed me to watch you, eh?" Shuichi agreed. "Any other symptoms I should know about?" Hiro knew quite a lot about medicine since he almost became a doctor. But Shuichi let him live his dream, thankfully.

"Well, I get headaches" Shuichi replied meekly. He stood up straight and brushed himself off, rubbing his temple. "But that's about it. It's nothing serious, really, so don't freak out on me." Hiro laughed lightly, trying to brighten the mood.

"I guess I won't be playing Metallica on your radio tonight?" Hiro joked. Shuichi rolled his eyes. "Just kidding. Anyways, do you want me to stop talking now?" Shuichi nodded gratefully. "Okay. I'll just wear some of your clothes. You can sit on the couch." Shuichi obeyed silently and closed his eyes while Hiro searched through the bedroom drawers. After thirty minutes, he found a nice pair of pajamas. They were Yuki's silk ones. Hiro regretted choosing Yuki's clothes, but nothing of Shuichi's fit him. This was frustrating, since he tried for twenty-five minutes to find something of Shuichi's that fit him. Hiro hoped Yuki wouldn't mind. He doubted the novelist would be worrying about that at this time.

When Hiro returned, he found Shuichi sitting on the couch. Shuichi looked like his headache was pretty bad. He was rubbing his head and groaning softly. Hiro sighed and walked over to the couch. He lightly tapped Shuichi's shoulder and waited for a response. Shuichi reacted instantly with a shiver-like motion. He turned to see Hiro's frowning face in front of him.

"Do you need your medication?" Hiro asked calmly. His voice was dripping with kindness and worry. Shuichi sighed wearily and shook his head sadly. "Why? You seem like your head hurts." Shuichi looked slightly frustrated. He looked away into the distance for a moment before replying.

"It does" Shuichi explained. "But I just had a pill less than an hour ago. I don't think I should take another one for awhile." Hiro gave Shuichi a sympathetic frown. "Don't worry. It's probably because I'm worried. I'll just focus on something else…" Shuichi's head bobbed. He shook himself and opened his eyes more, determined to seem awake.

"Do you want to go to sleep then?" Hiro asked. Shuichi shook his head rapidly. "Don't worry. You won't miss a thing, I promise. I'll wake you up if anything happens, okay?" Shuichi thought for a moment while Hiro waited patiently. He seemed to be deep in though, with a pounding headache… Finally, Shuichi let out a defeated sigh. His exhaustion won the battle, and he nodded slowly before closing his eyes. Hiro smiled softly before sitting down next to Shuichi on the couch, waiting. Hiro was personally hoping for good news, but you never knew what could happen…


Meanwhile, Yuki sped down the street, ignoring every traffic law known to man. He didn't watch out for old ladies, or even little children. Only one thing mattered as he hit the accelerator; his brother, Tatsuha. Tatsuha was dying; Yuki's little brother was dying… It was too much for Yuki to bear. He couldn't help but let out a few tears as he turned the corner. No one would ever know, he decided firmly.

Yuki was one to hide his emotions constantly. He rarely let out any evidence to prove that he had a heart inside. He hated showing others how he felt. If he did show emotion in front of his family and few friends, he felt that they would be able to understand him, pity him, and take advantage of him somehow. He didn't like this feeling, which he considered vulnerability.

Vulnerability was used to describe people who were easy to injure or maim, whether it be physically or emotionally. It was a helpless feeling, one that Yuki despised. Because of his hatred of this feeling, he either avoided it entirely or kept it well hidden. His fear of this caused him to try to control anything he had to associate with, and avoid anything else that could threaten his status and wasn't mandatory.

Yuki felt so vulnerable the day Kitazawa had hurt him. When Kitazawa's eyes gleamed as he looked at Yuki, then known as Eiri by all, Yuki felt horrible. Kitazawa could've killed him, could've ripped his arm off or sent him into a coma. And Yuki let it happen. He let himself be hurt because he let himself out in the open, without demanding tyranny of anything. He let himself be controlled, because of his position and feelings for that man. He let himself become vulnerable, and he paid for it. After that horrible night, he promised himself that he'd never feel that way again. Apparently, the promise was beginning to break. And Yuki wondered if he was going to pay this time as well.

And Tatsuha was to blame for Yuki's feelings, or so Yuki thought. Tatsuha was the one who got hit by a car. 'The idiot probably forgot to look both ways' Yuki thought bitterly. 'He was probably saying, "Look at me, everyone! I'm an idiot! Watch me get hit by a car!"' Yuki scowled. His brother was so stupid sometimes, especially when it came to Ryuichi Sakuma.

After Yuki thought about it for a moment, he decided to blame Sakuma, that stupid singer who caught Tatsuha's heart. He started to work out his reasoning in his head: If Sakuma hadn't held a concert this day, Tatsuha would've been alive and well. He would've been rushing home, laughing at all the bald monks in secrecy. No, it wasn't Sakuma's fault. He wasn't the one who drove the car that hit Tatsuha. It was probably a drunk driver or something, maybe a lady on crack. And the person, whether male of female, was stupid enough to drive in their condition and risk the lives of the innocent… Or maybe the person wasn't high or drunk. Maybe he/she was just a bad driver. Yes, the driver was to blame for Yuki's feelings. It was the driver's fault, Yuki concluded.

Yuki wiped his eyes quickly before concentrating on the road again. As he turned yet another corner, he realized that he was blaming others for his feelings of fear and sadness, and ultimately, vulnerability. It was his own fault for his feelings, he realized. He was the one who felt this way, and no one else could make him feel anything, without his consent. Yuki growled angrily. He wished he could continue to blame others, but that would be stupid, and Eiri "Yuki" Uesugi was NOT stupid. Maybe Tatsuha, Shuichi and Ryuichi were, but not Yuki.

Suddenly, Yuki examined his surroundings. He swore loudly as he looked around him. He was in heavy traffic. He continued to swear until he was out of breath. He was so frustrated! He HAD to get to the hospital, ASAP! His brother was possibly dying, and here he was sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic! Yuki growled and gave up his petty attempts to make the traffic disappear. It just wasn't happening by swearing at everyone and everything, thought it did relieve some stress. Yuki gazed over at a parking spot on the side of the lane. He waited until the traffic moved close enough and hastily parked in the empty spot that was in the middle of the street. Luckily, it had no signs near it indicating that he couldn't park his car in this specific place, and there wasn't a fire hydrant nearby. So, his pride and joy wouldn't get towed today, thank Buddha.

Once Yuki had successfully parked his Mercedes, he stepped out of his "baby" and on to the sidewalk. After putting on his sunglasses for fan-girl protection, he looked around quickly, determining where he had to go. If he kept walking straight for about five minutes, he'd get to the hospital. He smirked and started to power-walk down the street. He passed joggers, old ladies threatening him with canes and little kids who kept sticking their tongues out at him. He had walked for four minutes. He could almost see the hospital's sign.

In the distance, there was an alley. It was darkened, so Yuki couldn't see inside of it. He almost walked right past it, but then he heard something. It was a bit of shuffling. Thinking it was a gang, Yuki took another step forward to avoid a confrontation. But then he realized that there were only two people in the alley, their backs facing him. He blinked and wondered why he was so interested in these two people. Then he realized why.

One was wearing a pink-bunny suit, and had dark hair. (Yuki couldn't see because it was dark!) He seemed to be laughing with the other person, who had very dark hair and was wearing a jacket with pants and a shirt. Yuki glanced at them again, this time more casually. He made out what they were saying.

"Thanks for the lift!" the very dark-haired man said happily. "My sis would've killed me if she found out I missed the train!" He paused, trying to think of means of repayment. He smirked devilishly. "I owe you a zillion dates, okay?" The man seemed to be excited, and he wrapped his arms around the bunny-man. The bunny-man hugged the very dark-haired man and giggled.

"No problem!" he said. "It was my fault anyway. You missed the train because my concert ran late. But now your sister knows where you are, because she just called. Hey, at least we can spend some time together until the helicopter comes!"

"You're right!" the very dark-haired man agreed instantly. He seemed to have hearts in his eyes, and he gave the bunny-man a peck on the cheek. The bunny-man didn't seem to mind and he jumped up and down like a real bunny.

Yuki froze. Why did those two seem so familiar? It was at the tip of his tongue. He just couldn't grasp it. He growled with frustration. He told himself to just walk away, but he had a feeling he should stay. And he was right. The two men turned around, and Yuki looked horrorstricken.

"Oh, hi bro!" the dark-haired man called. The other one, which Yuki now determined to have green hair, waved. "What're you doing here?"

"Hi Yuki, na no da!" Ryuichi called. Yes, it was Ryuichi Sakuma, that vocalist for Nittle Grasper. And standing next to him was… Tatsuha? Wasn't he the one who was in a hospital because he got hit by a car? Yuki froze. He blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes.

"Tatsuha?" he breathed. Tatsuha nodded and walked over to his brother. "It's really you?" Tatsuha nodded. "But I thought you got into a car crash! Mika just called me to let me know which hospital you were in! What the heck are you doing here?"

"What're you talking about, bro?" Tatsuha questioned. "I missed the train to Kyoto because the concert ran later. And Mika just called me. She didn't leave the impression that she thought I was dying from a car impact or anything. She couldn't have told you anything like that…"

"What…?" Yuki thought aloud. "No… Wait… If it wasn't Mika who called, who did?" He paused and frowned. "And why?" Suddenly, he realized what was going on. He started swearing angrily. Tatsuha was fine, but now he had another problem to deal with. "Dammit!" Tatsuha and Ryuichi look at Yuki, utterly confused. As Yuki ran off in the other direction, they followed curiously.

"Wait, bro!" Tatsuha called. "Where are you going? What's going on?" Ryuichi grabbed on to Tatsuha's shirt as they ran. He seemed scared. "Bro, answer me!" Yuki just kept running. Tatsuha began to get worried. 'What's going on?' he thought. 'What's wrong with bro now?' Determined to find out, he decided to tell Ryuichi the plan. "We're following him, Ryu. I think something's wrong… We have to find out what." Ryuichi nodded hesitantly before picking up the pace.

"Shuichi…" Yuki thought angrily. "How could I be so stupid?" He continued to run until he came to his Mercedes. He noted that Ryuichi and Tatsuha were following him. Not willing to fight them, he simply left one of the doors open. Both of them hopped inside the car as Yuki cut through two lanes to go back to his apartment. Ryuichi and Tatsuha buckled up. Luckily, there was no traffic in the opposite direction.

Yuki had to get back to his home, fast, or he couldn't imagine the possibilities. Meanwhile, Tatsuha and Ryuichi sat in silence. They didn't know what to say to the paranoid novelist and didn't even attempt to talk to him. The only thing they knew was that something was wrong, and that Yuki wasn't happy about it.


A/N: Confused? Well, everything will make sense in the next chapter... MUWAHAHA! At least I didn't kill Tatsuha... You'd better thank me for that! Oh, and I wonder what you guys think Yuki realized... Is it obvious? Hmm... Oh, and I'd like to mention that 'Lunar Reflection' by Julin X is finished. It was amazing! And Julin X graced us with yet another wonderful Gravitation fic, 'Angel's Heart'! Please read it! -puppy eyes- It'll be worth your time!

Please review! Thank you for reading and even possibly reviewing! I LOVE YOU ALL! THANKS FOR MAKING ME FEEL SO HAPPY! -dances- It makes up for me being a bit sick again... Grr... I think I've caught something that's slowly getting worse, then better, then even worse... Anyways, thanks again! I hope I did a good job on this chapter!