OK! I finally updated! I've been super busy! And this chapter is only 3100 words... Darn... I know, this chapter reveals almost everything! YAY! PLZ READ AND REVIEW! Let me say this first: everyone is shocked in this chapter, so the reactions are weird. And I have another surprise in store! GO ME! Alright, enjoy!

SLIGHT SWEARING!

Dedicated to Loveless19 for agreeing to draw a fic for this story! -hugs-

Disclaimer: I don't own Gravitation. -sobs-


Chapter 12: Behind These Crimson Eyes

Everything seemed to slow down for Yuki's voice. Tatsuha and Ryuichi, both united by threads as thick as the world itself, slowed down. Their eyes widened slowly, and their mouths opened slowly but surely. Even Anoiji, the red-eyed monster, slowed down in his torture of the innocent angel before him. He was trespassing in angelic domain, and Yuki didn't appreciate that. Yuki's words commanded everyone around him to look at his furious face. It was filled with hatred, love, concern and worry as well, making his eyes look like blades. One gaze and you'd be blind for a moment in time, no matter who you were.

"What. Are. You. Doing?" Yuki demanded Anoiji, who held his hand above Shuichi's head. Yuki's eyes narrowed and they set on Shuichi's face. Yuki didn't like anyone hurting or scaring HIS pink fluff ball. Shuichi's face was hidden by his hands, which were trembling with fear. The boy hadn't even noticed anyone had come into the room. He believed that he was still trapped in his cage, with no one able to hear his desperate cries, and he was sure that no one was going to help him. He let out a small sob, and Yuki paused to examine Shuichi from afar as did Tatsuha and Ryuichi. None of them knew what to do. They were stunned.

Shuichi's hair was a mess. It looked like it hadn't been cleaned in weeks. His whole body was covered in scrapes, cuts and bruises. Naturally, he didn't look well. And that did not please Yuki, or Tatsuha, or Ryuichi. Their eyes gleamed with hatred and anger. Yuki opened his mouth to speak once again, and gave Tatsuha and Ryuichi the hint to stay still.

"I asked you a question" Yuki said clearly and as calmly as he could muster. He wished he could just kill Anoiji right there and then, but there was a risk that Anoiji could hurt Shuichi more, or do something to the degree of using the boy as a hostage. He would have to plan his rescue strategically. But how could he possibly do that when his heart was wrenching from looking at his suffering lover? "I would like an answer, bastard. You can't go around hurting my baka and get away with it." Shuichi still stayed in his position and he gave no signs that he actually realized anyone was there.

"Ah, Yuki…" Anoiji said softly. He stood up straighter and faced Yuki, still close enough to Shuichi for a slap or kick though. "How nice to see you here…." He seemed annoyed, and a bit surprised, but he wasn't nervous at all. He seemed very smug. "I didn't expect you to come this early." He let out a smile from his red lips, and his eyes darted around the room. "I guess I've been caught, eh?" He chuckled, like the situation was amusing and not scary. He was outnumbered, but he didn't seem to mind. He actually looked like he was enjoying it.

"What's so funny?" Yuki demanded. He was trying his best not to just charge at Anoiji, but he knew better. Anoiji was prepared for almost anything at that moment. If he wasn't, he wouldn't be so calm and he'd have run away already. He had something in store, Yuki was positive. "And WHY were you hurting Shuichi?"

"YEAH!" Ryuichi chided, looking at his silent friend sympathetically. He was confused, but still angry enough not to care. But, who was this man who hurt his shiny friend? Ryuichi wanted to know that if he could, later, because it wasn't on the top of his list of priorities; saving Shuichi was. Ryuichi, the five-year old at heart, became the serious Ryuichi Sakuma, thirty-one years old at heart and mind. "We can call the cops right now, you know. We all have cell phones with us. The police will come running once they hear this, so I wouldn't act so cocky if I were you." Anoiji let out an evil laugh. Ryuichi glowered.

"I guess my plan failed" Anoiji observed, ignoring Ryuichi's comment. He looked over to Hiro, who was still unconscious on the floor. "But at least I had some fun torturing people again. I haven't done it in so long, you know? It's such a pleasure to be here." He paused and looked at Yuki with a smirk. He knew this next line was going to hurt. "It's so fun to watch my son scream. I had forgotten how beautiful it sounded, the cries and the winces." Yuki glared mercilessly. He was breaking his composure, but he tried to hide it. "I remember it a few years ago, when I left my family. I had to leave the screams behind. It was quite sad." Yuki grew a passion for hating this man immediately. Anyone who enjoyed when Shuichi screamed in fear was a demon, or a monster.

"Tell us what's going on!" Tatsuha yelled. "I think you had something to do with Yuki coming to find me, thinking I was in the hospital! I want some answers! We're gonna call the cops, and you'll be arrested!" Tatsuha was fuming. "Especially since Shuichi wasn't the only person you hurt." He pointed to Hiro and frowned. Yuki and Ryuichi blinked, a bit worried about the guitarist.

"Oh, I wouldn't call the cops if I were you" Anoiji said matter-of-factly. "Do you want me to kill poor Shuichi here?" He pointed mockingly to the silent Shuichi and took a knife out of his pocket. "I found this pretty thing in the kitchen. You were in such a rush to get to your brother after my girlfriend called you." There were several gasps from the group. "Oh, she's good at imitating voices. She had been tracking Mika down from afar, and copied her voice on to a CD. Then she perfected the voice so that it would sound exactly like Mika Seguchi's. And the great Yuki Eiri fell for it. THAT entertained me until I got here, you know."

"So it was you!" Tatsuha yelled. "You tricked my bro into getting out of the house, just so that you could get to Shuichi? How dirty! You're a monster, a filthy monster!" Anoiji rolled his eyes and played around with the knife carelessly. It bewildered everyone. How could he be so calm and self-assured?

"It was more than that" Anoiji said. "It won't help you to know, so I might as well tell you, eh?" He didn't even give the group a chance to reply. He simply continued to explain. He wanted them to be upset, to suffer. That was his only purpose in life. "It all started when I used to beat Shuichi and my wife a long time back. I would lock my wife in her room so that she wouldn't tell anyone. I even took away the phone. It was stupid though, because she was too scared to say anything. At first, Shuichi would say nothing. And I'd take him to my friends' houses so we could take turns hitting him. If Shuichi was bad, I'd bring along my wife. It worked well, and I even left him alone a few times because I knew he was too afraid to do anything."

"But then, Shuichi spilled to his older friend, Ritsuka. I heard him explain how scared he was, and I was angry. He wasn't supposed to tell anyone, because I told him to keep his mouth shut. And when anyone disobeys me, I get angry. So, I killed Ritsuka so he wouldn't tell anyone. Shuichi was devastated, of course, but he didn't struggle as much after I hid the body. And when the search party arrived, I disappeared." No one knew what to say. Was this the past of that hyper pink-haired baka they thought they knew so well? Was this what he had to put up with every single day? It amazed Ryuichi, Tatsuha and Yuki to no end. They didn't know how to react. How could they?

Anoiji continued non-chalantly. "Years later, I got a letter in the mail. It said that I was suspected of killing Ritsuka. They must've reopened the case or something due to new evidence or the family complaining. I knew that I had no witnesses on my side, and it seemed quite suspicious that I left right after he died. So, I decided to go after Shuichi. I wanted to make him my witness, and say that he saw his mother kill Ritsuka. Everyone would believe him, because he is Shuichi Shindou, and the judges could just be fishing for money." Shuichi took his hands away from his face and punched Anoiji in the stomach weakly. "Oh, it seems like Shuichi doesn't like that idea, does he?"

"Mother killed NO ONE!" Shuichi yelled hoarsely. He still hadn't realized that anyone else was in the room. "SHE did nothing, you bastard! She's not going to jail! I won't let you! YOU killed Ritsuka! YOU should go to jail for killing Ritsuka!" He could no longer talk because he was so tired and sore. He broke out in tears. Yuki snapped and began to run towards Shuichi. He couldn't take it anymore!

"Nope!" Anoiji said sternly. He placed the knife right below Shuichi's neck. Yuki stopped short and Shuichi froze in fear, finally noticing that Yuki, Tatsuha and Ryuichi were there. "You can't come any closer, mister." He growled and Shuichi whimpered. "I need him to be a witness for me, or else I'll kill all of you. And don't think that I won't want to kill him because I need him as a witness. If he can't be a witness, he might as well be dead." Tatsuha chuckled angrily.

"And HOW do you expect to kill us all?" Tatsuha asked sarcastically. "I don't think you know karate or anything." Ryuichi remained silent, still glaring at Anoiji. He was thinking of what to do. His hatred was roaming inside him, not outside in the open. "You really think we're scared for OURSELVES?" Ryuichi's eyes traveled to Hiro and he remained as calm as possible.

"I think you forgot that I have your friend right here, Shuichi" Anoiji reminded them gently. "Would you like to accidentally hurt him more as you strike me?" Everyone was silent. "Good. I'd advise you all to keep your mouths shut about this. And I will convince Shuichi to talk. If he doesn't, his mother will pay the price. I have my buddies right outside her house, waiting for my orders. I assure you, my plan will not be messed up anymore. It was already messed up because you luckily found your brother somehow, though I'm still wondering about the details. I'm guessing he missed the train back to Kyoto and paired up with that brainless singer over there."

"You're an asshole" Ryuichi stated quietly, finally getting the urge to speak. "Why would you want to hurt people in the first place? You hurt your own wife and child and killed an innocent person, and you don't regret it at all? That's quite sad, I must say. And now you're being a coward and trying to get Shuichi to help you, by hurting your X-wife again?" Anoiji pondered for a moment, and he slowly pulled the knife away from Shuichi's neck. Shuichi let out a sigh in relief. He didn't dare look at his friends, because he was afraid and didn't want them to be here. He never wanted any of his friends (or lover) to get hurt again. It hurt too much the first time. He had learned his lesson.

"Well yes, it is a bit strange" Anoiji said. "But I personally don't care. I just want to live as long as possible, so I can continue to make others suffer. I like when other people scream, but not as much as I like it when Shuichi screams. I don't care who dies or why. I only have a girlfriend because she proved useful in this situation, and she's very good in the sack. So, I don't see any other whys you can come up with at the moment. Do you?"

Yuki began to watch Shuichi carefully, observing his every movement. (There were few things he could observe though.) 'And I thought I had a bad past' Yuki thought sadly. He felt helpless and vulnerable, his two least favorite feelings. It was horrible to watch Shuichi whimper and sulk, not even recognizing anything from the outside world. Shuichi was trapped in his cage yet again, and Yuki could do nothing to help him. Yuki was trapped, suffocated, afraid, and angry.

Yuki thought of how it would be like to be beaten every day by his father, and to watch his mother (who died when he was younger) suffer endlessly. He knew it would be miserable and terrifying, to have no one in the world who you could trust and tell how you feel, because they could be in danger. Shuichi had to suffer for years, and then he finally snapped and told his friend. (Ritsuka brought up why Shuichi always wore long-sleeves and jeans in the summer, and never went swimming in the pool when Shuichi spilled.) And he got punished for caring about himself for the first time. So why would Shuichi ever try to think of himself again?

Yuki also felt trapped and helpless. What could he do to save his lover? He couldn't just sit there, but attempting to attack Anoiji in this situation wouldn't work either. So what could he do? He was trapped, and there was no rescue party coming to get him. 'Will Shuichi do what Anoiji says and betray his friend, letting his father run loose?' Yuki wondered, not knowing what else to do. 'Or will he let his mother be beaten again?' Yuki shuddered. He liked neither of the options presented to him, and he was positive that Shuichi agreed with him. Right now, Yuki felt worthless to the person he loved the most. And that was yet another horrible feeling he was experiencing at the moment.

But he felt angry. Wait, angry wasn't the word. It was fury. He wanted to kill Anoiji with his bare hands. He wanted to rip that man's head off, literally. He hated anyone who would dare hurt his fluff ball. But this man wasn't even guilty or sad at all. He enjoyed the 'pleasure of the screams', which Yuki considered disgusting.

And a part of him was a bit annoyed. Shuichi had forced him to tell about HIS past, but Shuichi never said anything about his own past. It was frustrating, but Yuki wasn't about to get mad at Shuichi. Shuichi was already going through enough at the moment. Yuki just desperately wished that Shuichi had told him earlier. It would've made things easier for both of them. But Yuki also understood how awkward and uncomfortable it would've been to talk about his father. And it wasn't like Yuki ever asked, or pretended to care about Shuichi's life.

Yuki was mostly worried though. His lover was in danger, from his own father. Yuki had to admit, his father was annoying, but not even comparable to Anoiji. That guy was pure-evil; he wanted to either kill Shuichi or use him for his own selfish purposes. 'That guy has no life' Yuki thought, trying to lighten his mind. It wasn't working, obviously. He groaned and looked at Shuichi's pleading eyes. 'Is he asking me to help, or to leave?'

"Yuki, just don't say anything and leave…" Shuichi whispered. "Ryuichi, Tatsuha, you guys as well… I'll be fine, okay? I don't need another person to get hurt…" He winced at the memory. He pictured Ritsuka's blood pouring on to the floor, and all he could do was watch, watch his best and only friend die, because HE was being selfish, or so he thought. 'I let Ritsuka die; I won't let it happen again because I can't live through that again…' He remembered the tears, the pain, the frowns, the fake smiles and laughs, the gray gravestone, the red, and the evil behind those crimson eyes…

It was too horrible to remember sometimes. Shuichi couldn't handle all the memories at once. He realized that he was going to cry. But he couldn't! 'I can't!' he thought angrily. 'Yuki, Tatsuha and Ryuichi are gonna die because of me! And Yuki… I love him, and I only end up hurting him! He's such a wonderful person inside... And I'm making him feel bad because I have a little problem to deal with! Will I ever learn? Even after Ritsuka, I'm still a walking disaster… My dad isn't the evil one. I am. I'm so stupid… Why would anyone try to help me?' He turned his head around and cried silently.

"Shuichi?" Yuki breathed. His voice was dripping with concern and worry. "Shuichi, are you crying? You should be. This monster beat you, and I failed to help you…" Shuichi shook his head angrily and turned around.

"No Yuki!" Shuichi yelled, tears dripping down his chin. "Every time someone finds out about Anoiji, they get hurt! Just, please, leave! I don't want to see Ritsuka die again… It was too scary… I don't want to hurt anyone again…" He let out a whimper, and Anoiji smirked. He began to talk to Tatsuha and got the man riled up. He had to wait until Shuichi was done talking before he would escape, otherwise it would be more difficult to get the boy to cooperate.

"Shu…" Yuki whispered. His voice escalated. "It was Anoiji who causes all this, not you! You weren't the one who killed Ritsuka! You weren't the one who called me, saying that Tatsuha had been in a car accident! It was Anoiji! Stop blaming yourself! Think of how Ritsuka would've felt if he walked into your room and found you dead? He'd know that you never told him what was going on, and then he probably would've killed himself! You shouldn't suffer like this and stay quiet!"

"But Yuki…" Suddenly, Anoiji snapped. He was tired of waiting. He slapped Shuichi hard in the head, causing Shuichi to bonk his head against the wall, hard. Shuichi's eyes closed instantly and his head titled to one side. Yuki's jaw dropped. His fury rose to its peak. He was about to charge at Anoiji, but Ryuichi, the ever-silent one, held him back.

"LET ME GO, YOU BRAINLESS IDIOT!" Yuki demanded. He kicked and punched Ryuichi, but Ryuichi didn't seem to care about that. He was focused on Anoiji. "THAT BASTARD HURT HIM! LET ME KILL HIM! LET ME RIP HIS FUCKING HEAD OFF!" Ryuichi put his finger over Yuki's lips and glowered at Anoiji. The man seemed to be amused by the struggle.

"I'M HERE!" Everyone turned their attention to the doorway. They each saw a flash of blond…


PLZ READ AND REVIEW AND I MIGHT UPDATE TOMORROW! THANK YOU!